Modern Suiseki

Itokake or Itomaki

There is another term to describe texture of stone surface in Suiseki.

It is Itokake or Itomaki, 糸掛・糸巻.

It is written as 糸掛 and 糸巻, and read as Itokake and Itomaki.

If translating literally, it means winding or thread in English.

I think it is because it looks like thread stretching around the surface.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so Niyodo River Stone's Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi are listed below:

Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi（Niyodo River Stone）：

Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi（Niyodo River Stone）：

Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi are stones with many veins similar to the veins of a leaf on their surface.

This is because vein-like parts remain due to weathering, and if the remaining vein-like parts are white, they are often made of quartz, which is resistant to weathering.

Even if the stone is white, if it is calcareous, the calcareous part, which is less susceptible to weathering, will be carved away first and become the waterfall stone. Kibune stone and Shikou stone are of this type.

Another stone is Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi from Naguriyama-ishi.

Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi（Naguriyama-ishi）：

In this case, what appears to be somewhat layered quartz material stands out like veins from the brown ground, making it distinctive.

In the case of Itokake-ishi or Itomaki-ishi, the ground part is weathered, and the strength and hardness of the stone as a whole cannot be said to be high. However, both Niyodogawa stone and Naguriyama stone are attractive stones with sufficient hardness.

Itokake or Itomaki（Sado Red Stone）：

These are small quartz veins that can be seen in the red stones of Sado.

There are several Itomaki or Itokake, can be observed.

Although it is modest compared to Niyodo River Stone, it has a unique beauty with its fine stone veins.

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