“Phantom Stone” Born from 400,000-Year-Old Lava Becomes Modern Art – Exhibition “Eternity in a Moment” to be Held in Omotesando from April 25th

IZUTSUYA Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shintomi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter "IZUTSUYA"), in collaboration with Japan Culture SX Lab (Representative: Soun Sugisaki) and the Youth Division of the Kanagawa Stone Industry Cooperative, will hold the exhibition "Eternity in a Moment vol.1 'The Luster of Honkomatsu Stone'" from Saturday, April 25th to Thursday, May 1st, 2026, at the Aphrodite Clinic Lounge Space (Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / Omotesando). Admission is free, and no reservation is required.

What is the "Phantom Stone" Honkomatsu Stone?

Honkomatsu Stone is a stone material from Manazuru Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, born from the lava of Hakone Volcano approximately 400,000 years ago. Minamoto no Yoritomo and Tokugawa Ieyasu recognized its value, and it was used for the stone walls of Edo Castle. It was also chosen for the gravestones of Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Yukichi Fukuzawa, making it a material deeply intertwined with Japanese history.

However, currently, due to decreasing quarrying volume and the aging of artisans, the processing techniques for Honkomatsu Stone are facing a crisis of survival. This exhibition is a valuable opportunity to "see, touch, and learn" about this disappearing traditional technique.

Stone × Flower × Lacquer – Exhibited Works Where Three Traditions Resonate

This exhibition features cross-disciplinary collaboration among skilled stone artisans from the Kanagawa Stone Industry Cooperative, flower artist Soun Sugisaki, and lacquer artist Hisayoshi Muto. They will display a collection of works that reinterpret the inherent power of Honkomatsu Stone within the context of contemporary art. Below are examples of some of the works to be exhibited:

"Iwa Shimizu - Rock Spring -"

A collaborative work by stone artisans and lacquer artist Hisayoshi Muto. The strength of the stone, which has endured 400,000 years, and the lustrous sheen of lacquer resonate, presenting a new beauty through the dialogue of materials.

The floral arrangements by flower artist Soun Sugisaki elevate the entire venue into a living art.

"Mizukagami - Water Mirror -"

A sculpture maintaining a miraculous balance, "Wings Spreading Left and Right." It possesses a tension as if about to take flight, yet remains perfectly still. If flowers are arranged, life is breathed into the wings, and even without anything placed, tension and liberation coexist in the space.

"Kami Za - Seat of the Gods -"

Three stone pedestal works of different heights. They embody the ancient Japanese concept of "a place where gods reside" with the serene presence of Honkomatsu Stone.

"Kamosutoki - Brewing Time -"

~Pouring eternity into a single bottle~

The Desire Behind the Exhibition – Preserving, Delivering, and Returning Disappearing Culture

The title of this exhibition, "Eternity in a Moment," embodies the desire to "preserve for eternity the culture that can be touched in this very moment."

Not only the processing techniques for Honkomatsu Stone, but many traditional techniques across Japan are on the verge of disappearing. This exhibition was planned as the first step in a sustainable cultural preservation model that not only "preserves" them but also reinterprets them as contemporary art, creates new value through exhibitions and digital distribution, and returns the profits to the production areas and artisans.

Starting with this "Honkomatsu Stone," the exhibition series plans to continue with vol.2 and beyond, focusing on disappearing traditional techniques from various regions of Japan.

Delivering Beyond the Exhibition Period – Digital Archiving with 3D Gaussian Splatting

IZUTSUYA is responsible for the digital archiving of the exhibited works using 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) technology for this exhibition.

Although the exhibition period is limited to 7 days, by converting the works into high-precision 3D data and publishing them on "3Dasset.io," a 3DGS platform operated by IZUTSUYA, anyone in the world can view the works from their smartphones or PC browsers even after the exhibition ends.

The delicate texture of Honkomatsu Stone – the roughness of rough-hewn surfaces, the mirror-like polish, and the material contrast with lacquer – will be faithfully recorded and preserved as photorealistic 3D data.

Furthermore, by utilizing 3Dasset.io's external site embedding function and data sales function, we aim to build a mechanism that goes beyond merely "showing" digital archives, creating economic returns for artisans and production areas through monetization.

3Dasset.io is a comprehensive 3D data platform operated by IZUTSUYA that supports 3D Gaussian Splatting. In addition to the six main 3DGS formats (PLY, compressed PLY, SPLAT, KSPLAT, SPZ, SOG), it also supports traditional 3D formats such as GLB, FBX, and OBJ. It features a smooth web viewer for smartphones, iframe embedding for external sites, and sales/distribution functions, realizing a one-stop solution for 3D data "archiving → viewing → distribution → sales."

https://3dasset.io/

Exhibition Overview

Exhibition Name: Eternity in a Moment vol.1 "The Luster of Honkomatsu Stone"

Period: Saturday, April 25th – Friday, May 1st, 2026

*Closed on Sunday, April 26th and Thursday, April 30th

Hours: 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Venue: Aphrodite Clinic Lounge Space (Omotesando B1F)

Address: BASE Jingumae B1F, 3-5-7 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Admission: Free

Organizer: Japan Culture SX Lab

Co-organizer: Youth Division of the Kanagawa Stone Industry Cooperative

3D Digital Archive: IZUTSUYA Co., Ltd. / 3Dasset.io

Inquiries: info@izutsuya.io

Event Details: https://jcsxlab.com/event_20260425/