Red and green painted rocks

Factual Questions
1

I’m posting from Maui this time, and from the house of a friend who I’ve turned on to The Straight Dope. He had a bit of a mystery from this house that he wanted an answer to, and I figure you guys might just be up to the task.

When he bought this house, it had been abandoned for 9 years. It was owned my a Japanese woman that had died, and per custom, her belongings were not disturbed. Along with the furniture in the house came large, red and green painted rocks in the yard. They seemed to be placed randomly throughout the yard. Does anyone know what they might have been for?

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2

http://shimagata.tripod.com/

For all you ever wanted to know on the subject of Japanese, Chinese, or Korean viewing stones.

It seems that red stones are called “Aka-ishi.” I couldn’t find green stones, but I assume they’d be something like Oci-ishi or Aoi-ishi (Aoi is blue, but the Japanese tend to treat blue and green the same-- I think).
– Sylence

If a bird doesn’t sing, I’ll wait until it sings.

  • Tokugawa Ieyasu