I am Minista, a creator of inspiring suzuri (inkstones). I create inkstones that make writing and painting more enjoyable, and make the time spent grinding ink a pleasure. This is an unused inkstone, but it's an Amatoba inkstone that has been tuned by Minista (remodeling the ink well and ink surface to improve the inkstone's performance). It comes with a bookmark from the original Amatoba inkstone (currently Amatoba Suzuri Honpo) from the time of Seiken Amemiya. It is an inkstone with a wooden lid made using genuine stone from Amehata, Yamanashi Prefecture. Here's an explanation of this inkstone: The back of the paulownia box says "Showa 19 Nen Zassokai" (Photo 2). 1944. The year the kamikaze attacks began, in the midst of the Pacific War. Inkstone making was prohibited during the Pacific War. However, only two people who were qualified for the preservation of art were allowed to be drafted and make inkstones. Therefore, this inkstone was made only by Seiken. Zassokai. As you can imagine, it was a time when the people were extremely impoverished due to the enormous military expenditure (280 times the national budget). Buying or being able to buy an inkstone at such a time? It was a gathering of people of high status, that's what I think Zassokai was. I get the impression that it was probably a group of people from politics or high-ranking bureaucrats who were outside the mainstream. Even if they were civilians, they were not ordinary wealthy people. The back of the inkstone usually has "Amatoba Seiken Saku" (Made by Seiken of Amatoba) carved on it. However, there are no characters for Amatoba. In other words, it is a custom-made product that was ordered without carving. Now, the shape of this inkstone. It looks like a river stone. The origin of Amehata inkstones is said to have begun when the first generation of the Amemiya family picked up a black, flowing stone from the Hayakawa River during a visit to Mount Minobu and made it into an inkstone. (There are various theories) I think the shape of this inkstone just looks like a stone. However, the stone from Amehata is dug out of a cave in a plate shape. Therefore, it does not take on this stone-like shape. The entire shape of the inkstone is sculpted. It is very difficult to carve this natural-looking shape from Amehata stone. There aren't many people who can make it to this level. Besides, Seiken didn't use Amehata genuine stone very often. It's rare. Only he could have made it. In other words, it is a Seiken inkstone that was made to order by people of high status, modeled after the first generation's flowing stone inkstone, and carries a history. Size: 12.3 x 9.3 x 1.8 cm Weight: 488g #MinistaSuzuri (Inspiring Inkstone) Calligraphy Calligraphy Tools Japanese Inkstone Suzuri Kana Kanji Sutra Brush Ink Inkstone Paper