Sekimori #19, stone and rice straw (wara) rope

The sekimori-ishi, or guardian stone, finds its origins in the Japanese tea gardens of the era of Sen no Rikyū, the founding master of the tea ceremony, in the 16th century. Placed at the entrance to a space, it serves as an invitation to pause before crossing the threshold—a gesture of restraint and respect. This sekimori by Eri (WARA), with its polished stone and rice straw (wara) rope, embodies ma (interval) and yohaku (the beauty of emptiness), two essential notions of Japanese aesthetics that evoke the space between things, the silence that gives meaning to presence. In a space one holds dear, this stone becomes a touchstone of calm, a moment of breath in daily life.

The Artist

Eri lives and works in Shizuoka Prefecture. In 2020, moved by the meditative dimension of working with rice straw, she began braiding ropes inspired by shimenawa—the sacred ropes of Shinto shrines that mark the boundary between the sacred and the ordinary—and founded her brand, WARA. Her work explores the connection between material, ritual, and inner life, in an approach where every movement becomes an act of consciousness. Through the braiding of shimenawa and the creation of sekimori, she weaves a dialogue between past and present, extending an aesthetic of ma and yohaku, where beauty is born from silence, emptiness, and the precision of the gesture.

The Technique and Decor

The stone, chosen by Eri on the Shizuoka coast, was selected for the balance of its shape and the smoothness of its surface, naturally polished by the sea. It is wrapped in a wara (rice straw) rope, braided entirely by hand using the same technique as that of the shimenawa in Shinto shrines. The wara, derived from rice straw that has been carefully dried, beaten, and then combed, features a fiber that is both structured and soft, with a natural, warm feel; it has been used since antiquity in Shinto rituals and seasonal practices. Its matte texture and golden hue, which evoke the warmth of daily life and the rhythm of the seasons, lend the object a peaceful presence, imbued with balance and simplicity.

This sekimori is a unique piece, the stone having been chosen for its individuality and the braiding bearing the mark of the artist’s hand.

Practical Information

Place of creation: Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan

Format: Medium (see the image with the hand for scale)

Dimensions (including rope): Length 9.5cm - Width 6.9cm - Height 4.8cm

Weight (without box): 232g

Materials: natural stone, wara (rice straw) rope

Period: contemporary

This Sekimori is presented in a protective paulownia wood box, the lid of which can serve as a display stand, accompanied by a booklet in Japanese describing the artist’s intent (a translation of which will be provided).