Gemstone in Japan | Which type of Gemstone found in Japan

Jadeite is a stone found in Japan and has held a special place in the hearts of the Japanese for so long. In September 2016, “jadeite (and jadeitite)”* was chosen as the national stone of Japan by the Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences. Here we are going to introduce jadeite and the relations of Japanese people with it from ancient time along with the presence of this art in their lives eternally.

Japan’s jadeite grows in the regions where one tectonic plate is situated on top of another. The type most popular in Japan is a transluscent green jadeite, but white, lavender and light blue jadeites are also known. The most famous deposit is located in the Itoigawa region of Niigata Prefecture, although the material is also present in other regions.

Jadeite has been found in Japan for many thousands of years. The art of jewelries has been produced from jadeite even 5000-6000 years ago as it was discovered in the equipments or remains of the Jomon period. One of the examples is *taishu* pendant which belong to the late Jomon period it is considered to be the first jadeite artifact created by man. Later more burial necklaces with jadeite beads have been recovered which signify that jadeite was appreciated in all parts of Japan by the end of Yayoi period. This make jadeite probably among the first gemstone that was esteemed by people in Japan.

Jadeite was appreciated by people in ancient times but it faded out of favor for approximately 1200 years. It is only in 1938 that the jade was rediscovered being trapped in the Kotakigawa river in Itoigawa City and later identified to be the biggest producer of jade in Japan. Kotakigawa and Omigawa rivers regained status as a Natural Monuments, and when visiting Itoigawa it possible to see occure jadeite in its raw form and the enormous jadeite boulder at The Jade Furusato Gallery.

In 2009, it opened as a UNESCO Global Geopark to preserve the “oldest jade culture on the planet.” In a more recent move, the jadeite was in 2016 adopted as the national stone of Japan by the Japan Association of Mineralogical Sciences (JAMS).

The JAMS committee selected jadeite after choosing 22 candidate stones and then narrowing it down to five finalists: granite, stibnite, gold, quartz, people’s imperial; jadeite. Such gemstone was selected for its elegance, measly cosmic significance, and a assured association with Japan.

“What still remains unclear about the formation process of jadeite blasted into its popularity” Geoscientist and the chair of JAMS, Miyawaki Ritsuro. In the given culture, jadeite remains a special stone due to the features that have been attributed to it such as beauty, rich cultural history and the mystery surrounding it.

The jadeite is believed to exist in subduction zone, a region at the surface of the earth bounded by two tectonic plates.ap. The most famous variation of jadeite in Japan is the slightly translucent bright green jadeite which is not only a gemstone, but also a precious one. Apart from that, white, lavender and light-blue colors can also be grown. Japan has identified Itoigawa in Niigata Prefecture as the largest producer of jadeite but the mineral is found at other locations within the country.

In Tochigi Prefecture particularly the Utsunomiya City, the Oya stone construction material is manufactured to increasing demand. That is the way people from this region have been quarrying stones and using them in different ways over the generations. Actually in 2018 the ‘Utsunomiya, Home of Oya Stone Underground Adventure’ was recognized as a part of Japan Heritage.

The National Diet Building in Tokyo, symolizing the modernization of Japan was constructed in 1936 using many kinds of stones produced all over the country.

When the Japanese was under the rule of Tokugawa shogunate in the late 1868, Japan’s Meiji government wanted to follow the European and U.S style systems and technology. In 1881 the government declared that though the “Diet” would start only in 1890, they intended to build a structure for it. Since there were no Japanese architects capable of designing Western style constructs they hired German architects Hermann Ende and Wilhelm Böckmann to construct a Neo-Baroque building. Thus, the proposed design was also not finished due to the time and costs’ constraints again. The above mentioned buildings are of Japanese architects trained in Western style of architecture, but later more typical Western style buildings, like the Yokohama Specie Bank, Togu Gosho and the Tokyo Station were constructed.

In Europe in the late 1800 there was a high demand for stone block walls especially when the exterior was finished in stone. This idea affected Japan where it was reflected in the Diet Building. Discussions went on many times and finally, the construction work of the Diet Building initiated in 1920 under the policy of using locally available material. Thus, the stones used in Japanese gardens as well as the stones found all over Japan were selected by their hardness, workability or usability as well as their attractiveness.

The Diet Building was constructed in 1936 to accommodate three floors above ground, one below ground and a capital tower in between two parlaments. Constructed out of steel-reinforced concrete which was a contemporary technology for the time the interior of the building and the exterior of the walls is decorated with various natural stones in the walls, the floors and stairs.

A very similar aspiration was reflected in the words of another architect, who wanted to achieve what he referred to as ‘solemn and softly humble’ look and feel that would merge the oned alguna grandeur of Neueaar-Eoukobarock with the contemporary minimalism some would call for. Most of the exterior walls are granite – Tokuyama stone at the ground floor, and pale pink Odachi stone at the upper floors. The interior features thirty plus varieties of marble plus the mosaic floors are comprised of 1.6 million marble tiles. The walls and pillars of the Central Hall are made of Ryukyu stone from Okinawa containing some fossilized shells.

Even if the stones are from the same vicinity, no two stones are the same in color and thus make the building glamorous which cannot be emulated by concrete. During rainy weather the stones are wet and therefore have a kind of gloss; that is another attractive aspect of the stones.

Today’s National Diet Building is still one of the representatives of Japanese construction crystallizing the richness and diversification of the stones of the country.

Oita Prefecture, Usuki City there are very vividly, thin, and slender Buddhas sculpted in stones or commonly known as the, Usuki stone Buddhas. These are Buddha images selected as a National Treasure and their presence in the room is calming to those who look at them.

Japan has many forests, so they have been using wood for constructions, tools and even Buddhas statues. Other forms are rarer: there are, for instance, “magaibutsu” carvings in India and China, but some were executed in Japan. The Usuki Stone Buddhas are one of the main clusters of the stone Buddhas of Japan created by carving the cliffs directly across four different regions. These 61 statues of varying heights are approximately 1 to 2.8 metres tall.

The idea behind these carvings is not well understood. According to one theory, the Oga clan that governed this region in the second third of the 12th century, ordered those carvings for the prosperity of the clan. Kanda Takashi, a director, and specialist from Usuki City’s Cultural Properties Research Office said that these statues are actually unique because the fine and graceful works are a rarity when it comes to stone Buddhas. These are made from rock synonymous with Aso tuff which is more or less like carving spoons from wood.

Initially, to guard the Buddhas from harsh climate, they were covered with avenge; however, the covering perished and the Buddhas are influenced by climatic conditions. This caused some of the carvings to be detached from their heads, arms and any other part that had been carved on. However, one photographer Domon Ken documented the broken parts of the carvings to bring awareness and people started admiring the faded looks of Buddhas as well.

Between 1980 and 1993, large-scale restoration work was undertaken and many of the fallen Buddhas were reinstalled and new shelters built to protect them. The remaining fragments that could not be refitted to the carvings are kept in safe temporary storage until an appropriate conservation technique is identified.

The fully restoration of the carvings is even more complicating. As Kamatani Ryohei of the Usuki City Board of Education noted, restoration, is not a matter of putting the pieces where they could go but where they were.

As for the need of carving the locals they have altered with time since the Usuki Stone Buddhas were made though the identity of their maker and their purpose remains unknown. Each Buddha’s posture or facial depiction does not cease to remind people of the people that existed approximately 900 years ago.