ishigumi 石組

Lit. stone arrangement. Also called iwagumi. The arrangement of stones for symbolical, functional, or decorative purposes in a garden. Together with planting and fence design, ishigumi is one of the three major aspects of Japanese gardens. Three-part ishigumi typically feature a central stone *shuseki 主石 and two subordinate stones *soe-ishi 添石. Common types of stone arrangements include hōrai ishigumi 蓬莱石組 (*hōraiseki 蓬莱石), shumisenshiki ishigumi 須弥山式石組, sanzonshiki ishigumi 三尊式石組 (*sanzon iwagumi 三尊石組), tsurukame ishigumi 鶴亀石組, gogan ishigumi 護岸石組, hashi ishigumi 橋石組, shichigosan ishigumi 七五三石組, renzan ishigumi 連山石組, *taki ishigumi 滝石組.