Summer Tokonoma Display

On the last official day of summer I wanted to share some pictures of a formal summer display currently in the Museum’s tokonoma.

This Distant Mountain Stone is one of my favorite suiseki in the collection. It is extremely smooth and flat measuring 4.25 in. high x 25.75 in. long  x 11.25 in. wide. It was collected from the Setagawa River and was donated by Mr. Kenichi Oguchi.

On closer inspection there is a depression on the right resembling a lake at the foot of the mountain.

The bottom of the stone. Whether a stone should be cut or not is something I won’t get into here. =)

I personally have never seen another diaza like this. Since the stone is completely flat on the bottom the diaza only goes around the edge. Has anyone else ever seen something similar?

Close-up of the hand carved daiza.

This scroll depicting a waterfall and Japanese Maple is by Imai Keiju. Born in Mie Prefecture, Imao Keiju (1891-1967) was a Shijo school painter who studied under he father-in-law, Imao Keinen (1845-1924); He was known for his bird and flower motifs making this scroll unique since it deviates from his normal subject matter.

Detail of maple leaves

Signature and chop of Imai Keiju

I am thankful that another summer is coming to an end. Soon the green maples will give way to the reds and oranges of fall marking what I believe to be most beautiful season of all. Stay tuned for more seasonal displays.

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