12/04/2026
From the field — 2026.
It's done.
One year. Six sessions. Twelve days. 60 tons of stone. A Komatsuishi arch standing 3.4 meters tall, built entirely without mortar by gardeners learning the craft of dry stone walling under Teruki Kamiya of Kamiya Zoen — organized by the Kanagawa Branch of the Japan Garden Association.
The stone itself deserves a word. Komatsuishi — specifically Hon-Komatsuishi from Manazuru, Kanagawa — is a pyroxene andesite formed from the lava of Mt. Hakone approximately 400,000 years ago. Dense, hard, and remarkably durable, it has been used in the stone walls of Edo Castle and is considered one of Japan's three greatest stone materials. What makes it alive is its change over time — freshly cut, it carries a deep blue-black luster; as decades pass, it softens into a mossy grey-green. A stone that keeps becoming.
While the craft itself comes directly from the British tradition — which this community deeply respects — Komatsuishi brings its own character to the work. Blue, grey, and earth tones shaped by 400,000 years of volcanic history.
This is what a year of patience looks like.
📍 Souseiji Temple, Odawara, Kanagawa
📷 Hiroshi Urata / EDGEs
