Aiseki Club Toyota, A Model Club to Emulate
A discussion of the 2024 Small Stone Exhibition and the Aiseki Club Toyota
By Thomas S. Elias
Innovation often begins on a small scale rather than a large-scale effort. Innovation is needed to energize the Japanese suiseki community and to reverse the two-decade or more decline in the number of suiseki clubs, collectors, stone dealers, journals, books, and exhibitions. One of the brightest prospects in recent years is the activities and events staged by the Aiseki Club Toyota near Nogoya in Aichi Prefecture. Most Japanese All Japan Suiseki clubs are composed of a small number of older men. There are fewer clubs each year and not enough new members to offset those lost to aging. The exception is the Aiseki Club Toyota which has a growing membership of over forty active people including women, children, and overseas members. This is one of the most active suiseki organizations in Japan.
The Aiseki Club Toyota holds regular meetings, schedules stone-collecting trips to nearby rivers, holds training and educational programs for members of all ages, and stages exhibitions for members to display their stones. Success in these areas requires excellent leadership and the ability to develop a suite of officers to lead the organization. This club embraces a wider definition of suiseki and displays while avoiding rigid rules and a narrow definition of what constitutes a suiseki. Increasing the base population of people interested in suiseki will help pass on the traditions of suiseki culture.
The principal driving force behind this success story has been Nishiyama Takashi (Tom). Nishiyama served as president of the Toyota club for many years before passing the club’s leadership to the next generation last year. Nishiyama leads an international effort to have the bonsai and suiseki culture added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. He also serves as an officer of the All Japan Aiseki Association, and on the board of directors of the Nippon Suiseki Association. Outside Japan, Nishiyama has established many friends and contacts and enlisted several foreign members in the Aiseki Club Toyota.
Stone enthusiasts from other countries should become international members of the Aiseki Club Toyota even if they don’t plan to exhibit a stone. You can help support the efforts to have a strong national-level exhibit of small stones in Japan that includes foreign exhibitors by contacting Nishiyama t-k-nishiyama@yc4.so-net,ne.jp and become an international supporter of this important effort.
Six years ago, Nishiyama initiated a new exhibition that features small stones in Toyota. It was held in an older Meiji-era Japanese-style restaurant converted into a community center. The small rooms and low ceilings provided an ideal scale for the small stone exhibition. Most All Japan Aiseki Association members collect smaller stones in nature rather than purchasing stones from dealers. However, there was not a major annual small exhibition until Nishiyama’s innovative move to create a new venue for diminutive rocks. This compliments and contrasts with the annual large stone exhibition, the Meihinten, held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
Their 2024 small stone exhibition was held at the Toyota Citizens Cultural Center on August 10th and 11th. It was co-sponsored by 11 stone clubs in Japan and by the Monthly Aiseki magazine. This exhibition had support from Toyota City and other organizations including local newspapers. The Japan Suiseki Association and the All Japan Aiseki Association supported this exhibition.
A stone must be less than 15 cm in width, height, or depth to be eligible for display in this exhibition. There were 111 exhibits by 107 exhibitors. Three children’s stones were a part of the excellent stones on display. The twelve stones displayed by international members attracted considerable attention. This was their first exposure to small stones from other countries for some All Japan Suiseki Association members.
The next exhibition of small stones will be held July 19-20, 2025.
