Shikoku 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.

Shikoku stones, also known as Iyo stones, are extremely valuable and have a distinctive character. The stone type is considered a national heritage by the Japanese government, which makes exporting them very difficult. Thanks to the strong bond with our Japanese partners, we are able to offer these unique green-blue stones in our collection. Stones like these can only be found in Japan.