By Richard Turner

This stone is from the workshop of Sakurai Toshio in Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. He is one of the few remaining artisans who enhance stones to create specimens that rival the beauty of natural viewing stones. This stone was purchased as a work-in-progress with the intent of preserving a glimpse into Sakurai’s creative process. Sakurai selected the original stone for its potential as a classic asymmetrical mountain peak rising above the surrounding foothills. Details of the texture have been roughed out with a grinder. Subsequent stages in the process would include refining these details with cold chisels, sandblasting and acid-washing. In this stage of its enhancement the stone suggests a mountain that has been brutalized by irresponsible logging or otherwise unsustainable environmental practices. This was not, of course, Sakurai’s aim.