Akairo Ketsugan Stone, Japanese Garden Rock

The first manual for the Japanese garden, the Sakuteiki, describes the creation of gardens as: Ishi wo taten koto (石を立てん事). This translates to placing stones upright, which strongly emphasizes the important role of these elements within the Japanese garden.

The correct application of garden stones, Niwaishi (庭石) in Japanese, forms the basis of practically every Japanese garden. The placement of stones and rocks is almost always determined first, after which the garden is shaped together with all the surrounding elements. Because of this, stones and rocks are also known as the Kikotsu (気骨), or backbone, of the Japanese garden.

An authentic Japanese garden should mimic a certain natural essence. Stones and rocks are a significant part of this principle since they concern pure elements, coming directly from nature.

Ketsugan (頁岩) is Japan's shale, a type of stone known for its characteristic appearance formed by multiple layers of sedimentary rock, possibly combined with quartz. Ketsugan comes in various colors. In this case, the stone is red, or Akairo (赤色) in Japanese.