Artist Name: KF

Home: Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy

Activity in suiseki: His passion for suiseki was born in 1999, but several years later, he began his studies as a student of Sensei Luciana Queirolo. This begins a path that led him to love the entire cycle of suiseki: from the search for the material (tanseki – ko) to the cultivation of the stone (Yo-seki) to the interpretation of the most suitable style of daiza and the stone, and finally, to make the base for the stone. For this reason, he is a complete suisekista.

Some of his works have also been directed to the production of Chinese bases (shizou) with designs that complete the stone instead of making the base minimal.

Preferred wood: Cherry, Walnut, and African Pear.

Preference: For display in tokonoma (toko-kazari).

Signature: it has a vertical "K" and an inverted and horizontal "F" on the bottom of the base.

Artist Name: None

Home: Genova, Italy

Period of Activity: Giorgio is an amateur base carver who occasionally makes smaller bases for individuals in Italy and abroad. He began making bases in 2011 and for his friends in 2014. 

Preferred Wood: He prefers rosewood, but it is costly, and he uses it primarily for small and the most precious stones. Most of his bases are made from American walnut because it has good color and polishes well. Giorgio also uses pear (Pyrus) wood because it has a fine grain that is good for carving, but this wood is difficult to find in Italy. 

Signature: Rosati’s signature is two mountains with slight variations. The symbol is about 1.5 cm x 0.8 cm.

Artist Name: Kazu

Home: Nagoya, Aichi prefecture, Japan

Period of Activity: He started making daiza in the mid-1970s, and for many years he carved bases exclusively for suiseki dealers in Nagoya. One of his main dealers was Tanigawa-en. As the number of dealers declined in Nagoya, he began making bases for individuals. In the last decade (2010-2020), Harada has made superior bases for higher-quality stones in Japan. Many consider Harada to be the premier base carver in Japan since the early 2000s. 

For more information, see the feature article Harada Kazuya, Japan’s Master Daiza Carver, on the www.vsana.org website for February 2020.

Preferred Wood: Harada uses rosewood almost exclusively. After sanding, he hand rubs a Chinese lacquer paste on the base. This is repeated two or three times.

Signature: When he began making daiza, he used three characters (Kazuya), but later, he shortened it to two characters in a horizontal orientation.

Artist Name: Sansai

Home: Tanabe in Wakayama prefecture, Japan

Inactive: Hotomi Junzo was active from the early 1960s to approximately 2018. As a teenager, Hotomi studied woodworking and began his career as a cabinet maker, especially those used in the tea ceremony. As the demand for tea ceremony cabinets declined, he made finely carved bases primarily for Furuya stones. He is also well known for his craftsmanship and making excellent double boxes. Hotomi signs his daiza on the inside; however, he doesn’t sign all of his bases, only those he considers superior.

Preferred Wood: Hotomi uses rosewood or zitan wood for bases depending on the stone’s quality. He also used Paulownia wood to make some bases. His storage boxes are made of Paulownia for the inner box and mulberry wood for the outer box.

Signature: His signature consists of fine lines in a vertical orientation and on a smooth, polished pad about 3 x 2 cm.

Home: Tokyo, Japan

Period of Activity: Otani has been making daiza for Japanese stone for 25 years

Preferred Wood: Rosewood, Red Sandalwood, or Ebony

Signature: unknown, maybe his bases were not signed

Artist Name: Koju

Home:  Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Inactive: The late Suzuki Koji, artist name Koju, was active for 50 years (1966 through 2016) as a daiza carver. Suzuki studied with Tanimoto Hyakusui. During his career, Suzuki made an estimated 9,500 bases. He was one of the most prolific base carvers in Japan and was considered by many to be the best daiza carver in Japan during the peak of his career.

Preferred Wood: He preferred red sandalwood and used recycled red sandalwood when available.

Signature: He has consistently used the same signature throughout his career. The very fine lines are characteristic and difficult to duplicate. His signature “Koju” consists of two characters arranged in a vertical position. It is 2 cm by 1 cm and usually does not vary.

Artist Name: Yoshida Bonseki

Home:  Fukagawa, Hokkaido Japan

Period of Activity: Yoshida was one of the most active stone collectors on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. He collected over 1,000 stones and made all of the daiza for his stones. He is not known as a professional base carver. Still, Yoshida is included in this database because many stone collectors prize his numerous smaller rocks. Many of his stones with bases are in the hands of European and North American stone collectors. Yoshida serves as the President of the Fukagawa Kotan Suiseki Association for a period.

Preferred Wood: Yoshida primarily used the softwood of the native Hokkaido Tilia tree. He thought that the base has to be in a supportive e role to the stone and that a daiza can make a stone display better or worse depending on the quality of the base.

Signature: Yosida’s signature consists of the name “Yoshida Bonseki” in a vertical orientation when the daiza was large enough to accommodate the characters. On smaller-sized bases, he used just the word “Bonseki.” Another variant is the characters for “Yoshida” side by side with those for “Bonseki.”  

Artist Name: None

Home:  Hämikon, Switzerland

Period of Activity: Current. Tschudin specializes in high-quality hardwood bases and produces a limited number of bases each year. He began making bases for his collection several years before he started carving bases for others in 2015. He has made over 255 bases for others. The Chinese style initially influenced Tschuden to develop his own style of more naturalistic, free, and western expression. His goal is to find the balance between enhancing the features of the stone and his own creative inspiration. Tschudin graduated from art school in Zurich. Daiza making is his passion.

Preferred Wood: For projects that require more detailed carving, he prefers dense tropical hardwoods when available because the harder woods allow for intricate work. Most of these woods are no longer available in the commercial trade. Tschudin uses a variety of woods to match the color and grain of the wood with the color and texture of the stone. He doesn’t stain or varnish his bases. As a result, he uses a greater variety of woods than most base carvers. These include Gonbeira (Swartzia stipulifera) and ebony (Diospyros spp.), different species of Dalbergia, Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), and others. 

Tschudin used thermally modified native European woods, oak (Quercus), beech (Fagus), and chestnut (Castanea), for bases that have less detail. These thermally treated woods are physically stable and exhibit attractive dark tones. He likes to experiment with these modified woods. These woods are physically stable and exhibit attractive dark tones. He likes to experiment with these modified woods.

Signature: Three-character vertical signature consisting of three Japanese characters “Sa” + “ch” + yu” representing his family name Tschudin.

Artist Name: None

Home:  Pine Grove, California, USA

Period of Activity: (current): Jerry is a skilled woodworker who began making daiza in 2005 for uncut and cut stones, minerals, and fossils. Braswell also makes quality display tables and Japanese-style Kiri-Bako for viewing stones. He has made more than 3,000 bases for many North American collectors. Jerry is one of the most prolific base makers in the United States.

Preferred Wood: His primary wood for bases is the black walnut; however, he loves rosewood, other exotic tropical hardwoods, and burl wood. He also makes painted softwood bases when requested.

Signature: His signature consists of the letters J and B linked together with a diagonal slash mark above the two letters. The mark is approximately 1.2 cm X 1.8cm.

Artist Name: None

Home:  Monrovia, California, USA

Period of Activity: Phil began an apprenticeship with Al Nelson in January 2014. After his training, he has continued to carve bases for many collectors, particularly in California. He has made more than 450 bases by the end of 2021. Phil is an experienced woodworker who also makes display tables for stones and bonsai.

Preferred Wood: He uses Black Walnut, but he also makes painted, soft basswood bases (Tilia) on request. 

Signature: A vertically oriented signature consisting of the letters “P” and “H” combined into a single character with a wavy line on each side. The shape of the wavy line may vary somewhat. The size of the signature varies in size and maybe 2.5 cm (1 inch) to 1.75 cm in height and 1.5 to 1.2 cm (0.7 to 0.5 inches) wide.

Artist Name: None

Home:  Renton, Washington, USA

Period of Activity: Patrick has been carving bases commercially since 2013. He has carved over 100 bases for clients.

Preferred Wood: is Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), but he also uses Cocoloba, Rosewood, and Black Walnut (Juglans nigra). He can make bases in the Japanese and Chinese styles. 

Signature: His signature is found on the inside of the base. It is a cursive signature of his name and date. If room allows, Metiva also indicates the type of wood used to make the base.