Papermaking in Echizen City

Last Thursday or so I took a day trip from Kyoto to Echizen City in the Fukui province, about two hours Northeast of Kyoto by train. My task: to study, research, observe etc. the process of making Washi, or handmade Japanese paper. Part of my focus in Japan is on Japanese paper because I set up an independent study course (three 300 level credit hours!) through Truman State. I highly recommend others try doing this. But why Japanese paper, you ask? Why not something really useful, like the effects of the introduction of Buddhism on the ruling class structure in the 7th century? Well, being a printmaking major (I am a printmaking major), the topic of Japanese paper comes up a lot- it is a very important material with very special properties that you can really only understand after working with the stuff in various media. It is entirely different from Western paper- in its fiber content, its fiber characteristics, opacity, texture, thickness and so on. In printmaking these are very important characteristics- as important as the ink you print with and the mark-making on your image.

So anyway, I took a train to Echizen City, famous for its centuries old tradition of producing Washi. It was a wonderful day. I first stopped by the main museum where you can make your own Washi. The process was severely dumbed down, as it is typically reserved for groups of schoolchildren probably ten years my junior (I'm only 21). It was basically nothing like the real thing. Do I look really cool?

Check out the ACTION INSET!!

Look at that hairline! At the ripe age of 21, I'd say its pretty impressive! Once it's all gone I'll have to ring up Hans Weimann and see if he can't work some magic and transplant some hair from my arms to my shiny crown. I'd have thicker hair than ever before!

Anyway, so after that dinky tour I went to see the real stuff. I approached the Washi papermaking building:



I wandered around for a while, inspecting the structure to see if any nails were used in its construction. Traditional Japanese construction techniques utilize complex joinery in place of nails, which are thought to harm the wood and ruin its spirit and quality. This building seemed to use such joinery, which is usually the case only with older structures. The woman at the front desk confirmed that the building was over 250 years old, built during the Edo period and has been used for making Washi ever since! It excited me, at least. I was the only person there, which was great. I got a one-on-one tour of the shop and its contents.

The raw materials taken from Kozo (Japanese mulberry), to be used as the paper's fiber

Hand separating the choicest fibers from the lesser grades

Further separating the choice fiber (the white bast fibers) with a mallet

Preparing to form a sheet of Washi- laying the su (it's like a screen, basically)

Couching the sheet (stacking sheets on the table)

Laying the sheet out for drying in the Sun

A good example of a lamp made from Washi (lamp is the left 2/3, shadow on the right)

The old guy in the pictures was cool. He really enjoyed looking at me sternly, finger pointing at my chest and repeating "TO-RO-RO-A-OI!". Tororo-aoi is a special plant used in making Washi. Its bulbous roots are mashed up with water to form a goopy substance used as a binder of sorts. I think the guy was suggesting to me that tokoro-aoi is a key part of Washi, which it is. On my way out, the woman at the front desk gave me a free bag of tororo-aoi seeds! This made me happy.

In all, it was a successful day! It was nice to see first-hand everything I've been reading about in my thrilling book, "Japanese Papermaking", by Timothy Barrett.