''Bonseki'' (, "tray rocks") is the ancient Japanese art of creating miniature landscapes on black trays using white sand, pebbles, and small rocks.
Small delicate tools are used in Bonseki such as feathers, small flax brooms, sifters, spoons and wood wedges. The trays are either oval or rectangular, measuring about 60 by 35 centimeters in size. Oval trays have a low rim while rectangular ones are flat.
Bonseki scenes often depict mountains, seashores, and gardens. Small stones are used to represent mountains, shore lines or rocky islands that waves break upon. Miniature structures, usually of painted copper, are sometimes added to the work to make houses, temples, bridges, and the like.
Bonseki scenes by design are generally meant to only be temporary. Sometimes, by using special methods, a Bonseki scene can be preserved. This is called either ''bonga'' ("tray picture") or ''suna-e'' ("sand picture").
History
The origins of Bonseki are unclear but it is believed
Emperor Tenmu
was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...
, who reigned in the mid-7th Century, made use of Bonseki techniques to describe natural objects and landscapes. It is also believed that a number of gardens in
Kyoto
Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...
were planned and designed with the use of Bonseki as a type of temporary blueprint.
The rhymeprose essay, ''Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden'', written around 1300 by the Japanese Zen monk
Kokan Shiren, outlines the aesthetic principles for bonseki and garden architecture itself. Under the aesthetically minded Shogun
Ashikaga Yoshimasa
"Ashikaga Yoshimasa" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 du ...
(1443–1490), Bonseki became popular among members of the aristocracy. A century later,
Sen no Rikyū
, also known simply as Rikyū, was a Japanese tea master considered the most important influence on the ''chanoyu'', the Japanese "Way of Tea", particularly the tradition of '' wabi-cha''. He was also the first to emphasize several key aspect ...
, the famed master of the
tea ceremony
Tea ceremony is a ritualized practice of making and serving tea (茶 ''cha'') in East Asia practiced in the Sinosphere. The original term from China (), literally translated as either "''way of tea''", "''etiquette for tea or tea rite''",Heiss, M ...
, practised Bonseki and one of his students,
Hosokawa Sansai
was a Japanese samurai lord and daimyo of the late Sengoku period and early Edo period. He was the son of Hosokawa Fujitaka and Numata Jakō, and the husband of the famous Christian convert Hosokawa Gracia. For most of his life, he went by t ...
, set up a school dedicated to Bonseki with established techniques. The
Edo period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
(1603–1867) saw many Bonseki schools set up as it gained in popularity. Bonseki was particularly popular with many ladies of the Shogunate court in old
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
.
With the restoration of Imperial rule, Bonseki declined sharply as more emphasis was placed on modernity and Western culture.
Modern revival
In recent times, Bonseki has seen some revival as new groups continue to improve upon the Hosokawa techniques, while preserving its traditional elegance. One such group is the Tokyo Kuyo-Kai of the Hosokawa School. The Tokyo Kuyo-Kai is a group of students of the late headmasters of the Hosokawa school.
According to the Tokyo Kuyo-Kai group the object of Bonseki is not in the completion of the scene itself, nor in its preservation. The Tokyo Kuyo-Kai states: "The importance of Bonseki is the peaceful feeling and satisfaction you derive from creating a Bonseki scene and not the result of the work."
See also
*
Sandpainting
Sandpainting is the art of pouring coloured sands, and powdered pigments from minerals or crystals, or pigments from other natural or synthetic sources onto a surface to make a fixed or unfixed sand painting. Unfixed sand paintings have a long es ...
*
Rhymeprose on a Miniature Landscape Garden
* ''
Suiseki
In traditional Japanese culture, ("水" means Water and "石" is Stone, suiseki means water stone in Japanese) are small, naturally-occurring stones which are appreciated for their beauty and power to evoke a natural scene or object. ''Suise ...
''
References
External links
Bonseki FurusatoInformation in English about active bonseki schools, material supply sourcing, antique/rare reference art, and tool & technique descriptions. Links to Youtube demo page.
Information in English about the school, includes pictures of the utensils used.
a school of bonseki
a school of bonseki
YouTube bonseki demo
YouTube bonseki demo
YouTube bonseki demo
YouTube bonseki demo
YouTube bonseki demo
{{Authority control
Japanese art
Sand art