Prized suiseki are not replicas of natural objects they represent -- instead, they merely suggest the object and capture the object's essence with simple gestures; they awaken the imagination, inviting the viewer to complete the picture. They are simplicity, in accordance with Zen teachings. They are "less is more" captured in stone.

Aesthetic Qualities

Suggestiveness Subdued Color Balance Wabi (inward, spiritual) Sabi (aesthetics, art) Shibui (restrained elegance) Yugen (sudden perception of the elusive)

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Balance: between contrasting features: tallness/shortness, largeness/smallness, vertical/horizontal, convexity/concavity, hardness/softness, roughness/smoothness, movement/stillness.

Wabi: a subjective feeling evoked by an object; unassuming, solitary, calm, quiet, still, impoverished or unpretentious; melancholic, lonely, desolate (classic image: abandoned fisherman's shack on a lonely beach buffeted by a strong wind on a gray wintry day)

Sabi: ancient, mature, seasoned, serene, mellowed, antique; lonely, solitary or melancholic (classic image: patina and signs of age/wear on a treasured antique)

Shibui: restrained, quiet, composed, understated, reserved, sedate; refined, elegant (classic images: a single delicate flower breaching cracks in a sidewalk; the quiet understated elegance of a formal tea ceremony)

Yugen: profound, uncertain, subtle; dark and mysterious (classic image: moon shining behind a veil of clouds, or the morning mist veiling a mountainside)

So the aesthetics of suiseki are in the small details: variations in texture and shadings of color, and nearly invisible nuances of shape. These differences distinguish an ordinary stone from a fine suiseki, where the beauty often waits for discovery, just below the surface.