FEATURED BOOK REVIEW

Nippon Suiseki Association, Tokyo. 198 pages, No ISBN.

The 63^rd Exhibition of Japanese Suiseki Masterpieces, also known as the Meihinten, was held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum from February 14 to 18, 2026. This is the thirteenth year it has been held at this venue in conjunction with Japan’s National Bonsai Exhibition, the Kokufuten. Holding the two events concurrently in the same building attracts a bigger domestic and foreign audience. Visitors are not disappointed with the exhibition of exceptional Japanese stones (suiseki) along with a few stones from other countries. This catalog, which includes most of the stones in the exhibition, begins with six Special Exhibits and then presents thirty beautiful Tokonoma exhibits. The photographs of these uniquely Japanese display spaces were taken in another location prior to the late February exhibit in the Museum. The Tokonoma displays are followed by a special exhibition of 15 suiseki from the Terauchi family collection of historically important stones. This reflects the value that Japanese stone collectors place on provenance. The next section of the catalog is devoted to 86 General Exhibits, 62 from Japan and 24 from foreign exhibitors. This is the fewest stones in this category since this event began at this location. The catalog concludes with 11 pages of an earlier exhibition held July 18 to August 27^th [2025] at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. 

There are some subtle signs of concern. While the number of more expensive tokonoma has remained steady or increased slightly, the number of Suiseki entered by Japanese collectors in the General Section has steadily decreased since the exhibition's inception at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. In 2014, 125 Japanese collectors displayed stones, and that number has been declining most years and stands at 62 in this year’s exhibition. This significant 52% drop in participation may be a reflection of the rapidly decreasing number of Suiseki collectors in Japan, and/or the inability to afford to display a stone in this venue. The inclusion of Special Exhibits and the inclusion of the exhibition at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum is welcome and helps fill the gap created by fewer Japanese participants. But are these signs that the long-term future of this annual major event may be at risk?