Iwagumi Styles

If you trace Iwagumi layouts to their origin, you will find a layout that Takashi Amano created approximately 30 years ago. It was a simple layout created by arranging river rocks and planting solely with Echinodorus tenellus. According to Takashi Amano, while some people did not seem to be surprised very much by the layouts that he had created through trials and errors up to that point, when they saw this Iwagumi layout, they seemed truly amazed by its unique and unusual beauty. Iwagumi layout style did not exist back then, and no one, including Mr. Mitsuo Yamazaki, the importer of E. tenellus, had any detailed information on the plant. It was truly an original creation by Amano that no one had seen before. Ever since that time, various styles of Iwagumi layouts were introduced by Amano and the allure and fascination with Iwagumi layouts has increased.
The establishment of Nature Aquarium was also the birth of the Iwagumi layout. Iwagumi layouts can largely be divided into a few styles.

Style I

This is a layout that was created with petrified wood, a piece that is not used much anymore due to its propensity to increase water hardness, to produce an impression of a highland. This Iwagumi layout, which was planted solely with Glossostigma, made a big splash when published in 1991.


* The number below each photograph denotes the year the photograph was published.

Style II

This is the Sanzon Iwagumi style that forms the foundation of Iwagumi. The marked presence of an Oyaishi (main rock) dominates the overall impression of the layout. The role of each rock is clearly defined in the composition as in Oyaishi, Fukuseki (secondary rock), and Soeishi (supporting rock). Rocks with a massive appearance, such as Hakkaiseki, are especially suited for this style.

Style III

This is an Iwagumi style in which slender rocks are arranged in a radial pattern. Since rocks are arranged pointing upward and spreading outward, the shape of their tips is especially important. Rocks are arranged with careful attention to their angles and the balance with other rocks.

Style IV

Unlike in other Iwagumi styles, rocks are arranged in the image of a reef or bedrock instead of standing upright. Expansive scenery with parts of an immense monolith exposed out of ground is easy to express in a horizontally long aquarium. A school of small slender fish gives emphasis further on the vastness of the scenery.

Style V

While the composition of this Iwagumi style follows the Sanzon Iwagumi pattern of the style II, a different atmosphere is created with the use of cosmetic sand. Cosmetic sand can brighten up an aquascape or add a sense of depth, depending on the way it is laid. It also conjures up an image of Kare Sansui (Japanese dry garden style) built with white sand and rocks.

Style VI

This is considered a separate Iwagumi style with a new twist in expression, although it still follows the basic compositional pattern. Layouts in this style are created with masterful rock arranging skill, such as a composition with a pair of main rocks or another with a novel rock arrangement using Ryuoseki.








                                                                                                                         Source: aquajournal.net