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 Amehata Shinkiseki inkstone that has been tuned by Minista (reshaping the ink well and ink surface to improve the inkstone's performance). The back of the inkstone is engraved with "Amehata Yoshizuki Saku" (Made by Yoshizuki of Amehata), and it comes with a cloth stamped with "Amehata Shinkiseki". It was made by Yoshizuki of Horyukaku, an inkstone craftsman in Yamanashi Prefecture. It's a hand-carved inkstone with a carved back, shaped like a tile inkstone, with "Furinkazan" and "Takeda-bishi" carved on the top. Horyukaku seems to have called it the Shingen inkstone. Furinkazan, taken from Sun Tzu's The Art of War, is the banner of Takeda Shingen, a hero of Yamanashi. "As swift as the wind, as gentle as the forest, as aggressive as fire, as immovable as a mountain." (疾如風、徐如林、侵掠如火、不動如山) Takeda-bishi is the family crest of the Takeda clan. The four-split diamond is a pattern used by the Emperor, and it emphasizes the Seiwa Genji (descendants of Emperor Seiwa). The lines of the diamond are thinner than the four-split diamond. It's a rather elaborate inkstone, and I imagine it's from the time of the Taiga drama "Takeda Shingen" (starring Kiichi Nakai, 1988). Horyukaku has already closed down, but they were highly skilled inkstone craftsmen. Amehata Shinkiseki is an inkstone stone quarried in Hayakawa Town, Yamanashi Prefecture. It is a depleted Amehata Shinkiseki that can no longer be quarried. The stone is well-formed and has beautiful stone patterns. Especially the stone patterns on the back (yin) are incredibly beautiful. I think it was originally intended as a decorative inkstone (art and craft). It's good for kana (kana syllabary - half-size paper), ink painting, fine writing, and sutra copying. It grinds ink smoothly and comfortably, like a traditional Japanese inkstone. It works well with both pine soot ink and oil soot ink, but it produces an outstanding ink color with pine soot. The ink grinds well, becomes dark quickly, and produces ink well. The ink color is good from dark ink to light ink, and it stretches well, so I think you can write excellent lines that last a long time. It's a "The Japanese Inkstone" that suits Japanese ink. Size: 15.2 x 7.2 x 2.3 cm Weight: 535g * If you purchase ink with it, I will discount the ink by 300 yen per bottle. #Minista Inkstone (Inspiring Inkstone) ↑ Click here for a list of inkstones. Inkstone tuning: Maintenance to improve ink grinding, ink color, and ink extension, so that you can write and paint well. People often say that they feel like they have become better at writing and painting. Calligraphy Calligraphy tools Japanese inkstone Suzuri Kana Kanji Sutra copying Japanese painting Ink painting Ink painting Brush Ink Paper