An Antarctic rock?

An Antarctic rock with a mysterious past. The Fuji (AGB-5001) was a Japanese icebreaker that called yearly at Cape Town on its return trip from icy Antarctica between 1966 and 1976. On one trip, some of the crew met my father. As a gesture of goodwill they gifted him a rock, said to be from Antarctica. The rock was carefully mounted on a wooden base with a supporting column and carved indents to keep it in place. The rock took a prize position in my childhood room. Like an old friend it, travelled with me through every move.

Years later, I learnt about the Japanese art of Suiseki. The practice of displaying and appreciating naturally occurring stones for their beauty. Suiseki is closely tied to the aesthetics of Bonsai.

Learning this stirred a quiet suspicion. Perhaps the stone wasn’t from Antarctica after all but from Japan. Still, its stark beauty hasn’t faded. Today it sits quietly, anchoring the end of a cluttered bookshelf.

I’ve often thought about pairing it with a Bonsai tree, hoping to create a Suiseki - Bonsai tableau. I have never had a Bonsai that complements it. In my imagination, it would rest in a larger larger bowl with the bonsai tree sitting on top of the stone. Gnarled tree roots growing down the stone into the soil of the bowl.

A few years ago, my daughters bought me a Lego bonsai tree for Christmas. They asked for the pink frogs to be used for the leaves, a quirky touch. But between the small scale and the clash of Lego plastic and stone, the combination didn’t quite gel.

Elsewhere in the house lives a Mark II bonsai. A gift from apologetic friends after its predecessor failed to survive a no-water holiday during their house-sitting stint. Mark II has thrived for two decades, a quiet testament to resilience and watering. But again, it doesn’t harmonize to the stone.

So the stone remains a solo display.

The story the stone tells has changed over time. It might not hail from Antarctica, it might be from Japan. Yet if the stone didn’t originate in Antarctica, it has definitely brushed Antarctica’s frozen shores.