One of the so-called “four treasures of the study” in China (those being the 4 components of stationery: brush, ink, inkstone, and paper), inkstones have been prized since antiquity as handicrafts. Japanese calligraphy was first developed with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, with stones coming from Japan itself being used as one of the tools for writing.

Although in Chinese culture inkstones are displayed as decorations, expected to have original shapes and an artwork-like beauty, one of the characteristics of Japanese inkstones is that their practical usefulness is held in higher regard.