Shirakawa Garan, Japanese Foundation Stone

Stairstones, Tobi-ishi (飛石) in Japanese, are an indispensable element of traditional Japanese gardens. Unlike a garden path, walking on stairstones requires more concentration. This has a positive effect on how people experience and perceive the garden. Furthermore, stairstones prevent people from walking next to each other, which reduces distraction. In a tea garden, this also ensures that not everyone arrives at the tea house at the same time for the start of the tea ceremony.

The stepping stone path was introduced by Sen no Rikyū, a very famous historical figure who is considered the founder of the tea ceremony. The original idea behind using stepping stones was to keep the Zōri, traditional Japanese slippers, clean and dry while walking through the garden.

This unique stepping stone type is known as a Garan foundation stone (伽藍礎石). These stones were formerly used to mount massive wooden pillars of temples. Garan foundation stones from demolished temples are highly sought after by Japanese gardeners and are often used to fill gaps in stone steps. The reuse of materials in the Japanese garden is very common and beautifully aligns with the aesthetic concept of Wabi-Sabi.