Japan Heritage story
Komatsu: 2,300 years of stone, from jewels to castle walls
『珠玉と歩む物語』小松
For 2,300 years the people of Komatsu have found and polished stone: tiny jasper beads for ancient kings, tomb chambers, castle walls and the clay stone behind Kutani porcelain.
Key facts
- Theme
- Castles, Ancient burial mounds, Sea and waterside, Mines and minerals
- Era
- Yayoi, Kofun, Nara, Edo
- Region
- Chubu
- Official name in Japanese
- 『珠玉と歩む物語』小松
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～時の流れの中で磨き上げた石の文化～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 石川県（小松市）
The story
In the Yayoi period, green stone was a sign of power, and Komatsu had some of the best jasper in Japan. Craftsmen at Yokaichi cut it, rounded it on whetstones and drilled 1 mm holes with agate needles to make tube beads only 2 mm wide, a skill hard to copy even today. Later, rulers of the Yamato state prized bracelets carved from Komatsu's green tuff.
The soft local tuff was also cut for tomb chambers. At the Kawadayama tombs, archaeologists found a cut-stone chamber with an arched ceiling, the only one in Japan, much like royal tombs of Baekje in Korea. In the 1600s, lord Maeda Toshitsune rebuilt Komatsu Castle as a "floating castle" among moats, with finely fitted stone walls.
What to see
- Yayoi bead-making sites and the finds in local museums.
- Kawadayama tombs: the arched stone chamber.
- Komatsu Castle ruins: the stone base of the main tower, with stones of different colours set at random.Google Maps 小松城跡 (opens in a new tab)
- Quarries and stone in daily life: hearths, wells and lanterns of local tuff.
See the Ishikawa prefecture guide and more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Look closely at Komatsu Castle's walls: the mixed colours were a design choice.
- Komatsu's pottery stone is used for Kutani ware, so a Kutani workshop visit completes the story.
- Ask the local tourist office which bead, tomb and quarry sites are open before you set out.
Questions travellers ask
Why is Komatsu famous for stone?
It has rich deposits of jasper, green tuff, agate, opal and pottery stone, and has worked them for 2,300 years.
What are Yayoi tube beads?
Tiny cylinders of jasper, about 2 mm wide with a 1 mm hole, worn as necklaces by Yayoi-period rulers.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.