Materials

Paper

Washi is the Japanese word for the traditional paper, wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper.  It is made from the long inner fibers of three plants; the kozo, mitsumata and gampi.

Washi Features

Warmth — literally warmer to the touch than Western papers made of wood pulp, washi feels soft and creates a feeling of warmth in the viewer. Its tactile qualities make it wonderful for invitations and books.

Body — since the fibers are left long and pounded and stretched rather than chopped, washi has a deceptive strength. Pure-fibred washi can even be sewn and was used for armour and kimono-lining in earlier times.

Strength — the length of the fibers and the nature of the raw materials ensure that washi is highly workable when wet. Thus it is excellent for paper maché, and etching in which the paper must be soaked. These long fibers produce a luxurious deckle edge, the rough edge which marks a handmade paper.

Soft translucency — kozo and mitsumata are naturally translucent fibers, a quality specific to paper from the East. As such, it is used regularly for the transmission of light.

Absorbency — the nature of the fibers creates a ready absorption of inks and dyes. Papers that are “pure fibred” and dyed will result in much denser and more vibrant color when fabric or watercolor dyes are applied.

Flexibility — since the fibers position themselves at random, there is no real grain to washi. This gives the paper a resistance to creasing, wrinkling and tearing - and means it can be used more like cloth, for covering books, or boxes etc.

Lightness — washi weighs much less than other papers of equal thickness. As a paper for books, it can create texts of apparent weightlessness.

Low acidity — traditionally-made Japanese papers are truly acid-free if they are unbleached and unsized. Examples of printed papers exist in perfect condition in Japan from 1000 years ago. Today, papers from the village of Kurotani are among the finest archival papers.

Decoration — for centuries, colorful designs applied by woodblock or hand cut stencils have created vividly characteristic papers, for decorative use. Recently, silk-screened chiyogami (small repeated-patterned paper) is available in an unbelievable range and widely used by craftspeople. Although made by machine, the quality available is about 70% kozo and comes in hundreds of patterns.

History

Though paper was originally made in China in the first century, the art was brought to Japan in 610 AD by Buddhist monks who produced it for writing sutras.

By the year 800, Japan’s skill in papermaking was unrivaled, and from these ancient beginnings have come paper unbelievable in their range of color, texture and design.

It was not until the 13th century that knowledge of papermaking reached Europe - 600 years after the Japanese had begun to produce it.

By the late 1800’s, there were in Japan more than 100,000 families making paper by hand. Then with the introduction from Europe of mechanized papermaking technology and as things “Western” became sought after including curtains (not shoji) and French printmaking papers (not kozo), production declined until by 1983 only 479 papermaking families were left. Today the few remaining families struggle to compete in the world market with handmade papers from India, Thailand and Nepal, where a lower cost of living makes it possible to produce papers more cheaply.

Methods of Production

Branches of the (kozo, gampi or mitsumata) bush are trimmed, soaked, the bark removed, and the tough pliant inner bark laboriously separated, cleaned, then pounded and stretched.

The addition of the pounded fiber to a liquid solution, combined with tororo-aoi (fermented hibiscus root) as a mucilage, produces a paste-like substance when it is mixed.

It is this “paste” which is tossed until evenly spread on a bamboo mesh screen (called a su) to form each sheet of paper. The sheets are piled up wet, and later laid out to dry on wood in the sun or indoors on a heated dryer.

Raw Materials

The inner barks of all three plants primarily used in the making of washi are all native to Japan.

Kozo (mulberry paper, shown to the right) is said to be the masculine element, the protector, thick and strong. It is the most widely used fiber, and the strongest. It is grown as a farm crop, and regenerates annually, so no forests are depleted in the process.

Mitsumata is the “feminine element”: graceful, delicate, soft and modest. Mitsumata takes longer to grow and is thus a more expensive paper. It is indigenous to Japan and is also grown as a crop.

Gampi was the earliest and is considered to be the noblest fiber, noted for its richness, dignity and longevity. It has an exquisite natural sheen, and is often made into very thin tissues used in book conservation and chine-collé printmaking. Gampi has a natural ’sized’ finish which does not bleed when written or painted on.

Paint

Gansai paint is a high performance solid watercolor made from traditional Japanese colors created by through a drying process. These watercolors stand out for their particular high color brilliance and luminosity.