Most viewing stone collectors may not recognize this Japanese Neo valley chrysanthemum flower stone. This type of unaltered natural stone is rarely seen today. Instead, most people are familiar with the polished forms or the three-dimensional natural stones that form in air pockets or cavities. This river-washed chrysanthemum flower stone is typical of those found before 1940. These small boulders came from the fast-flowing rivers high in the mountains. Stones containing the flower-like mineral deposits that fell into the river rolled and tumbled among the smaller rocks and gravel in the waterway. This natural action grinds away the surface layers of the stone, exposing the flower-like formations. This type of stone is known in Japan as kawa-zure kika seki, or river washed chrysanthemum flower stone. One of the early publications on Japanese chrysanthemum flower stones, Kiku-ishi, published in 1940, featured only this type of stone. This stone has a more subtle beauty than highly polished examples. It measures 22 cm wide, 22 cm high and 12 cm deep and is in the collection of Thomas S. Elias and Hiromi Nakaoji.