naming stones

How much importnce do you put on giving your stones names? Not for category but to add something to be suggestive for a display, so that a viewer may be encouraged to see something you do?

IE: Washed in the lap of buddha?

Can you picture a stone with a head and shoulder like a statue of buddha with a pool stone for a lap?

I know a few in our club that this is important to be giving each stone a name and I'm beginning to be convicted, but curious to learn how much importance is placed on doing so by those who post here.....

Hi Dick

I like to give my stones names, but I do not force it...they dont have to have a name to make me happy. Some of the stones have a name only I know of, not a name I would mention in a exhibition.

The name can refere to were I found the stone, like " The Praquetoyama"...not a name I would use in an exhibition.

A stone of mine has a name given...For a long time did I like the stone but did not realy know why, or what it was....
It was in the garden for some years, before I gave it a daiza....
One day in the house, I saw it looked like a "Last years seed capsule" and this is now the name....insteadt of just being of some kind of interest to me, did it become  something... a personality


Not many of my stones have a name...but I do remember were and when I found them

Kind regards Yvonne

The name "Washed in the lap of buddha?" is nice....but would like to see the stone before I add more to the conversation   .

Kind regards Yvonne

Dear Dick

I do, but usually descriptive names, or the name of the place where they came from. Or the name of the person who gave it to me... like my Brin-stone and Mother-stone.

I think giving it names makes them more familiar to oneself, sort of giving the stone chi.

Love and light

Yvonne Graubaek wrote:The name "Washed in the lap of buddha?" is nice....but would like to see the stone before I add more to the conversation   .

Kind regards Yvonne

It could be misunderstood, it is this stone I want to see before adding more to it....I would like to hear how and why you name your stones Dick...appears Andre do like me  

Kind regards Yvonne

The stone is not mine, so i don't feel I have permission to post a picture. I was sent a picture and asked what I might call it. So I offered a coupla suggestions. I never named my stones other than the type they are
ie
Yama-taki (mountain waterfall)

So it got me wondering if this concept of naming stones for the viewers understanding of what the owner sees, was something wide spread or more individual, as with my club member? This international opportunity to learn from others around this world has always been something interesting and special to me, having to do with other cultures other ways of doing and seeing things.

So I thank all who have shared their thoughts and hope they understand now, more of why no pictures was posted and why I wanted their opinions.

still about names....
The stone on my photo is small... but had it ben bigger, like exhibition sice, would I still have used the name, as I can not expect the viewers to find the categori in the stone, witch in this case is a "objectstone", but could be a poor "toyama", and the stones image, witch make the stone for me, would maybe not be found.

In a shelf together with the right stones, can this stone tell a story,and make a difrence, when the name is used.
Without may the story be lost.

Kind regards Yvonne

your last sentence (thought) is very well stated!

dick benbow wrote:your last sentence (thought) is very well stated!

In a exhibition does a dohaishi stand very well for it self, and dont need a name, but it can have a name...tell something about the owners thoughts, or a previus owners....
and unless you just want to display a collection of difrent types of landskapestones in a shelf, you may want to let people know you gave it some thoughts

In a shelfdisplay would I not only name the stone we talked about, but name all the stones in the display....
F.eks. give the display the title....Forrestfloor in late winter...and call the stones used f.eks. "little flowers", "the mouse", and "last years seed capsule", by the side could be a shallow poolstone, and a scroll with a pale moon could be added.
The stones included would be a flowerstone, a animal- and objectshaped, and a poolstone.

What would you do?

Kind regards Yvonne

Hi Guys,
Like you guys i really dont have a specific names for each stone but the Japanese are very distinctive of its category in which i have high regards to it... The names i sometimes label the stones are mere guide to what i see and other might see otherwise which makes Suiseki a very interesting hobby...
Dick , Yvonne , Andre.. And others... Thanks for sharing your collection in this forum...May the STONE be with us forever

Regards Always..

Just recently I had a visit from Budi Sulistio and his partner Threes. She saw one of my stones and named it Tana Lot which for those that do not know is a small tourist Island attraction on the main Island of Bali.
Again just recently my wife and I were doing a promotion for our club at a retirement village.
I had some Shohin trees on display with a small snow covered mountain stone on show. Again a gentleman saw and asked what I saw, I said a snow covered mountain, he looked disappointed I asked why he told me his wife was born and he was stationed there in the Royal Navy. On the rock of Gibraltar, so I have two of mine named by others so they will stay as that.
By the way I looked up both rocks and the stones do look like the ones named.

Cheers Darky