JAPAN STONE MUSEUMS
Japan, unlike China, does not have large stone markets in cities where numerous dealers are located in large complexes. Instead, there are individual shops scattered throughout Japan. The number of these shops has diminished over the last twenty years. We will list several of the individual dealers in Japan who we know are reliable. Also listed are some of the major temporary stone exhibitions that have an accompanying sales area. These are recommended because they provide the opportunity to view displays of nice quality stones, and also to compare stones and their prices among dealers.
Tokyo
Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum
8-36 Ueno-Koen Taito-ku
Tokyo 110-0007
Web site: www.tobikan.jp/en/guide
The museum is a 5- to 7-minute walk across Ueno Park from the JR Ueno Station.
Each year the Nippon Suiseki Association stages the finest display of Japanese suiseki in conjunction with the major national bonsai exhibition—Kokufu-ten—that is organized by the Nippon Bonsai Association. The exhibit of stones occurs during the second week of the bonsai exhibit. In 2015, the stones were on display from February 9-13 on the third floor of this museum. This new annual exhibition started in 2013 will likely continue each year. It is the largest display of stones in Japan and consists primarily of Japanese stones owned by members of the association. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet leading stone collectors from Japan and other countries. Foreign membership in the NBA is encouraged, and stones from other countries can be displayed provided they meet the judging criteria. For more information about this, consult the NBA website as www.suiseki-assn.gr/jp/en.
A large sales area of bonsai and stones is held at the Ueno Green Club during the two week long Kokufu-ten event. A free shuttle bus runs every fifteen minutes between the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and the Green Club.
Meiji Shrine (Meihen-ten)
1-1, Kamizono-cho
Yoyogi, Shibuya
Tokyo 151-0053
Web site: meijijingu.or.jp/English
The shrine and exhibition is a 10 minute walk from the Harajuku Station (JR Yamanote Line).
Since 1961 the Nippon Suiseki Association has held an exhibition in mid-June presenting fine stones in the Meiji Shrine. Today, the exhibit for large stones is staged in the open main yard and in the museum annex building for smaller stones. This exhibit, the Meihen-ten suiseki masterpieces, was the leading annual display of stones in Japan until the February exhibition held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Despite that, the Meihen-ten is an excellent display of Japanese stones in a beautiful setting. It is organized by the Nippon Suiseki Association. The annual exhibit catalogs of each of these 50+ exhibits are one of the more important references for people to learn about Japanese suiseki. Recent back issues of these exhibit catalogs are available at this annual exhibition and from the Nippon Suiseki Association.
