A friend of mine & I talked about Marimo some time ago, both of us finding them strangely entrancing. Lately she has been feeling down, & I wanted to do something that might lift her spirits. I thought back to that conversation & realized that this could be the perfect combined birthday & Christmas gift because it is living, comforting, beautiful, gentle & low maintenance.
That sent me down the rabbit hole of trying to figure out where to buy authentic Marimo, which turned out to be surprisingly difficult. There is so much mixed info online that it felt nearly impossible to know which offered algae balls, which offered true Japanese Marimo, & which offered high-end ones.
After a lot of searching, I ended up buying from Moss Artistry. The old man I received is a 5 cm collector-grade authentic Japanese Marimo, about 10 years old, in the low triple-digit price range. The baby is an authentic Japanese Marimo under 2 cm I got for a very low double-digit amount. She was very clear about the distinctions among algae balls, authentic Marimo & collector-grade Marimo, & was patient answering all of my questions so I understood exactly what I was buying. (It was surprising how many sites never responded to specific questions I asked, or used marketing language that sounded convincing but was clearly too good to be true, especially with their low pricing.) I was able to pick up locally since we are both in NYC, which meant no compression or shipping risk.
I literally just picked up these gifts for my friend yesterday. But when I was talking to her today, she told me she had just bought her own specialty tumbling tank filled with many small Marimo because it occurred to her that they would be great fun for her apartment to lift her mood. I guess great minds think alike! The timing was wild, but honestly I felt relieved because I had already fallen in love with these two & it would have been incredibly hard to give them up.
Unpacking them was honestly such a delight. The ancient old man is stunning in person. Deep green, velvety, perfectly round, incredibly stable, & the pictures do not do him justice. I will have to get out my camera next time. The baby is already entering his exploding-fur stage, which is adorable.
Funny side note: I have always categorized Marimo as female in my head for some reason. I do not know why. But the seller casually referred to the large one as “him,” & in that moment he just became a “he” to me. & of course the baby one followed. Which brings me to their names.
The old man is now named Ōkuninushi (oh koo nee NOOSH ee) which means Great Land Master. Ōkuninushi is a terrestrial creator deity & ruler in Japanese mythology associated with the land, healing, good fortune & protection. That grounding & guardian-like energy felt perfect for him.
The baby is now called Kuni (KOO nee) which means land or territory or domain. It comes directly from the central Japanese character in Ōkuninushi’s name & feels gentle, loyal, & deeply connected.
Kuni is literally & thematically nested inside Ōkuninushi. One represents the Great Land Master, & the other represents the land itself. Protector & companion. Guardian & spirit. A large Marimo & a small Marimo perfectly linked in meaning, energy & mythic symbolism. Happy sigh.
Once I finish putting their aquascape together, I will post more photos. Wish me all the round green luck as I begin life as a surprised but thrilled new Marimo parent.