Ink stones and their resources in Japan

Abstract

The recent remarkable development of the information society has brought about a great change in the

literate society. Writing by Chinese ink with an inkstone has become almost obsoleted. However, inkstones are still

one of the Japanese traditional handicrafts that are loved and treasured by calligraphers, painters, citizens who enjoy

calligraphy, and arts and crafts enthusiasts. Until now, there has been limited about scientific research on traditional

Chinese terms and notations related to inkstones, the functions of inkstones, natural figures on the inkstones, etc.

We carried out preliminary petrological and mineralogical experiments of ink stones and reported its functional properties.

In addition, domestic ink stone was also reviewed and the production environment was examined. In order to inherit

the unique Japanese traditional craft techniques, further contributions from geology, petrology, and mineralogy are

expected, such as elucidation of precise texture of inkstone and identifying high quality inkstone stone resources.