Stone of the Month: 

December 2022 

"A Buddhist Gift"

Japanese Neo Valley chrysanthemum flower stones are known for their colorful flower-like mineral formations embedded in a dense, hard matrix. However, some naturally occurring stones display more subtle features evoking feelings of the Wabi and Sabi aesthetic concepts. The subtle red and green colored stone surrounding the two whitish “flowers” is typical of the lens of rock that bears the chrysanthemum flower stones. It has been tumbled and shaped in a fast-flowing river in Neo Valley for many years, hence its designation as a kawa zure or river-washed stone in Japan.

Since this stone has been lovingly cared for decades by a Buddhist monk, it adds meaning. A stone gains in value the longer it is held and appreciated by a collector and then passed on to another collector. This stone was found in a Neo valley river, perhaps 30 years ago, by the late Furuta Yasuyuki, a monk at the Gentoku-ji Temple. Mr. Furuta, who lived near Neo Valley, was an avid chrysanthemum stone collector for many decades. This stone was presented to Tom Elias in 2007 when he visited Furuta in his home near Neo Valley. Mr. Furuta is shown holding this stone in Ishihara Nobuo’s book Neo Chrysanthemum Flower Stones (see featured book review). This featured stone of the month is also illustrated on page 72 of the book Chrysanthemum Stones, The Story of Stone Flowers (2010). The stone is 22 cm wide, 17.5 cm high, 12 cm deep, and weighs 8255 grams ( 18.2 pounds).