Japanese Art of Stone Appreciation. Vincent T. Covello

      

      To Adele Astrello and Donald Sanborn

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, Vermont 05759 U.S.A.

      Copyright © 2009 Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Covello, Vincent T.

      The Japanese art of stone appreciation : suiseki and its use with bonsai / by Vincent T. Covello and Yuji Yoshimura ; foreword by Sonja Arntzen.

      p. cm.

      Includes index.

      ISBN 978-1-4629-0257-6

      1. Suiseki. 2. Bonsai. I. Yoshimura, Yuji. II. Title.

      NK8715.C6 2009

      745.58’4--dc22

      2009004361

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      Table of Contents

       LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

       ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

       FOREWORD

       INTRODUCTION

       CHAPTER 1 Historical Background 15

       CHAPTER 2 Characteristics and Aesthetic Qualities 24

       Suggestiveness

       Subdued Color

       Balance

       Wabi, Sabi, Shibui, and Yugen

       CHAPTER 3 Classification of Suiseki 31

       By Shape

       By Color

       By Surface Pattern

       By Place of Origin

       Combining Classification Systems

       Other Classificatory Terms

       CHAPTER 4 Displaying the Stone 67

       Choosing a Container

       Creating a Display Area

       CHAPTER 5 Suiseki with Bonsai and Other Related Arts 87

       General Considerations

       Rock Plantings

       Tray Landscapes

       Keto-Bonkei, Bonseki, and Hako-Niwa

       CHAPTER 6 Collecting Suiseki 132

       Collections and Exhibitions

       The Art of Collecting

       Commercial Markets

       Valuation

       Guide to Field Collecting

      APPENDIXES:

       1. How to Make a Carved Wooden Base

       2. Suiseki Classification Systems

       GLOSSARY-INDEX 157

      List of Illustrations

      Asterisk (*) indicates color plate

      1. Section of Japanese screen “Portuguese in Japan,” and detail 16, 17

      2. Chinese Coastal rock stone 17

      3. Human-shaped stone “Li Po Meditating on a Waterfall” 19

      4. Distant mountain stone “Floating Bridge of Dreams” 19

      5. Landscape garden at Ryoan-ji 21

      6. Stone display in a tea-ceremony hut 22

      7. Near-view mountain stone suggesting mountain scenery 25

      8. Distant mountain stone showing interplay of complementary

       aspects 27

      9-12. Distant mountain stones 32, 33

      13. Near-view mountain stone 34

      14. Mountain-stream stone 35

      15. Island stone 36

      16. Slope stone 36

      17.