Aji Stone is a granite found only in the northeastern part of Takamatsu City — the single place in the world where it is quarried. It ranks 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, equivalent to quartz and nearly twice as hard as marble. Its fine grain allows for precise craftsmanship; its low moisture content makes it exceptionally resistant to weathering. Only a small percentage of what is quarried is usable. Every step from extraction to finishing requires careful inspection, and it takes at least four years of training to work the stone with any skill.
The number of artisans working with Aji Stone is declining. Where some 500 stoneworking companies once operated in the region, around 200 remain — and where companies once employed up to twenty workers, many now operate with one. Chikara Ninomiya, President of Aoshima Co., Ltd., launched Aji Project to bring the stone back into daily life and to restore the economics that sustain the people who shape it. Processing fees had gone unchanged for over thirty years; one of his first actions was to correct that. The aim is straightforward: as the work finds its audience — in Japan and beyond — the craft finds a reason to continue.
