History

Kameoka is a basin that was once a vast lake, gradually transformed into land through the erosion of the Hozu River and the accumulation of sediment. The very formation of this terrain is said to be linked to the origin of the name “Tanba,” and the memory of that ancient lake still lingers today in local legends and in the dramatic landscape of the Hozu Gorge.

The basin’s distinctive climate―marked by sharp seasonal temperature shifts―and its fertile soil have long yielded high-quality agricultural produce. The Hozu River (known downstream as the Katsura River), which runs through the basin, once functioned as a vital waterway, carrying timber and rice to Kyoto. From autumn to winter, a mystical blanket of fog settles over the land, evoking what has been poetically described since the Edo period as a “sea of mist,” an image that remains deeply etched in the cultural memory of Kameoka.

This abundant natural environment also nurtured generations of stonemasons. Various types of Tanba stone were quarried here, and in the Hoki area―where SAIDA is based―granite was once extracted and shaped by many skilled hands. Stone was never merely a resource; it formed part of the very foundation supporting the region’s industry and culture.

Prior to the introduction of Buddhism, mountain and water deities were revered in this area. In the southwestern part of Kameoka, around Hoki, numerous ancient burial mounds have been unearthed. Traces of a spiritual culture grounded in reverence for nature remain quietly present in the landscape.

Hoki granite, characterized by its balanced distribution of black mica, possesses a calm and refined quality. After the capital was established in Kyoto, this stone was widely used to shape the city’s sacred and scenic environments―torii gates, stone walls, steps, approach pathways, lanterns in Japanese gardens, and water basins for ritual purification. Sometimes referred to as “rust stone” (sabii-shi), its distinctive patina has also been prized for expressing the aesthetic of wabi-sabi in garden stones and lanterns.

Cultivated within a culture of nature worship, the aesthetic sensibility of Kameoka’s stonemasons enabled them to perceive beauty in the grain and tonality of stone, elevating it into cultural form. Stone is a product of the land, yet it becomes culture through the hands and eyes of those who shape it.

Within this historical and cultural continuum, SAIDA ―established in 1902―has carried forward its craft for more than a century. Among its works are the stone torii gate and multi-tiered pagoda at the entrance to the approach of Myoken Temple, affectionately known as “Myōken-san,” as well as many other structures that have come to symbolize the region.

Inheriting the climate, faith, and spirit of craftsmanship rooted in this land, SAIDA continues to embrace its role: transforming stone, a gift of nature, into enduring cultural form―linking the memory of place to the generations yet to come.