PRODUCT DETAILSA small plane of Makabe stone for the everyday tableCut as a slender 100 mm square, the Makabe Stone Art Plate gives a cup or glass a distinct place while leaving its mineral grain in view. Gray, black, and translucent-looking particles...
PRODUCT DETAILS
Cut as a slender 100 mm square, the Makabe Stone Art Plate gives a cup or glass a distinct place while leaving its mineral grain in view. Gray, black, and translucent-looking particles form a quiet natural pattern, bringing the material presence of Japanese stonework into an object made for daily use.
USE & APPRECIATION
Start the morning by giving your glass of water a place on the table. The Art Plate’s 100 mm square frames the base with a narrow border of mineral grain, adding a clear shape against warm wood. Enjoy the small contrast between transparent glass and dense stone as you take the first pause of the day.
Settle on the sofa with a cup within reach, and give it a distinct place on the side table. The Art Plate’s thin square introduces stone grain to the reflective glass surface without filling the whole setting. Pair it with a cup you already enjoy and appreciate the contrast each time you set the cup down; drinkware is not included.
When setting a place for a guest, a small change of material can be enough to make it feel considered. Beneath a glass, the Art Plate adds a square of gray mineral grain beside soft linen and ceramic. Let those textures do the decorating, keeping the rest of the arrangement open for food and conversation.
At a low table, a quiet drink can become an occasion to notice the objects closest to you. The Art Plate sets a cool gray square against warm reddish wood, giving the cup a defined place between sips. Enjoy the balance of curved drinkware and straight edges; the stone cup pictured is separate from this plate.
Carry a familiar tabletop ritual onto the terrace. On a stable woven table, the Art Plate’s precise square contrasts with the surrounding texture and gives a cup a small place of its own. Let daylight reveal the mineral grain while you enjoy the pause, keeping acidic liquids away from the stone surface.
A glass tabletop offers a different way to enjoy the same small plate. Its reflective surface makes the thin stone edge and square corners especially clear beneath a rounded cup. Choose a cup you like, place both gently, and let their different outlines form a simple arrangement. The drinkware shown is not included.
Between drinks, leave the plate uncovered for a while. Within a small square, Makabe stone’s dense light and dark grain gives you plenty to notice without an added motif. Keep it visible on the table as a material accent, then return it to its everyday role beneath a cup or glass.
OBJECT PASSPORT / CARE & USE
Follow the care and use guidance above when using the Art Plate. Keep acidic liquids away from the stone surface.
OBJECT PASSPORT
CRAFT HERITAGE
The Makabe area of Ibaraki has long used its high-quality granite to make tools and objects for daily life. The local stone industry is said to have begun with the production of Buddhist stonework around Nagaoka in Makabe at the end of the Muromachi period.
The oldest confirmed Makabe stone lantern, dated 1824, stands within the grounds of a temple in Makabe. The stonemason who made it is credited with establishing the techniques that continue in the craft today.
TRADITIONAL CRAFT PROCESS
A Makabe stone lantern is composed of six separately carved elements: the hoju finial, kasa roof, hibukuro fire chamber, uke platform, sao shaft, and jirin base.
Each component is marked, carved by hand, and finished individually before the lantern is assembled with mortise-and-tenon joints.
Eighteen traditional techniques are used across the process, supported by specialized tools such as chisels and bishan.
MEET THE MAKER
MAKER · MAKABE, IBARAKI
Iwabuchi Sangyo works with stone in Makabe, Ibaraki, combining modern processing equipment with traditional hand carving. Its practice is grounded in judging the character of the material, establishing form with precision, and finishing the surface by hand where the work requires it.
Hisayuki Iwabuchi represents the workshop in Makabe, one of Japan’s long-established stoneworking regions. He is recognized as a Traditional Craftsperson in Makabe stone lantern making, was named a Contemporary Master Craftsman in 2021, and received the Medal with Yellow Ribbon in 2022.
Modern machinery allows the workshop to cut and shape stone with power and consistency. It does not remove the need for judgment. From design through processing and inscription, the studio works in-house, moving between mechanical preparation and traditional hand carving according to what the piece requires.
A chisel and hammer do more than decorate a machine-cut form. They change how the surface catches light, how an edge feels, and how the mass of the stone is perceived. Small differences in force, spacing, and direction accumulate into the finished character. The maker is not trying to conceal the material’s weight; he is giving that weight a deliberate form.
The workshop’s work includes gravestones, Makabe stone lanterns, stone construction, lettering, and other stone products. Design, processing, and inscription are handled within the business, bringing machine work and hand carving into one continuous practice.
The title of Contemporary Master Craftsman and the Medal with Yellow Ribbon recognize Iwabuchi’s skill and long service to his field.
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