Sajigawa Stone

The original volcanic rocks were transformed by high pressure and heat during crustal movements; the resulting rock was exposed at the surface and, over a long time, weathered and eroded into loose boulders in and along the Saji River. Because overcollection and theft spread as the stone became popular, the Governor of Tottori Prefecture ordered a total ban on collection in October 1965, and in 1984 the prefecture designated the Saji River basin a nature conservation area to protect the stone.

Sajigawa stones vary in shape and pattern; the Sajigawa-ishi enthusiasts' society classifies them into ten types: Sajigawa makuro-ishi, haiji-ishi, kumokake-ishi, itokake-ishi, hekitan-seki, tora-ishi, mon-ishi, arare-ishi, sudachi-ishi and tenpyo-seki. Of these, the makuro-ishi, which shines blue-black when wet, is considered especially valuable.

Sajigawa stone has long been treasured as a garden stone in the Saji area. From around 1907 it became nationally famous for bonsai use; from the mid-Taisho era it was used in the gardens of large residences and inns in Tottori and Yazu and became popular in Kyoto and Osaka; and during the stone boom of the early 1960s it drew attention as a suiseki among collectors in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. The Reimei-no-niwa garden behind the Saji branch office was built in 1992 to preserve and display the stone, and Sajigawa stone is used for the Inpaku-no-to memorial in Okinawa and the water basin of the Tottori Prefecture Gokoku Shrine.