"Wa"
for "Japanese," "Shi" for "Paper"
Washi is the Japanese word for the traditional papers made from the long
inner fibres of three autoctonous plants, "wa" meaning Japanese
and "shi" meaning paper. As Japan rushes into the 21st Century
with the rest of the world, and more modern technologies take over, machines
produce similar-looking papers which nevertheless have qualities very
different from authentic washi. Currently there still remain only some
350 Japanese families still engaged in the production of handmade paper.
Each sheet of washi is the result of at least five separate pairs of hands,
each doing its part to create a sheet of paper, imbued with human spirit
and 1400 years of tradition.
A
Bit of History
Though paper was originally made in China in the first century AD, the
art was brought to Japan in 610 AD by Buddist monks who produced it
for writing sutras. By the year 800, Japan's skill in papermaking was
unrivalled, and from these ancient beginnings have come papers unbelievable
in their range of colour, 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.
Raw
Materials
The
inner barks of three plants, all native to Japan, are used primarily
in the making washi:
•Kozo(paper
mulberry) is said to be the masculine element, the protector, thick
and strong. It is the most widely used fibre, and the strongest. It
is grown as a farm crop, and regenerates annually, so no forests are
depleted in the process. Kozo paper, prepared carefully, is terrific
for relief prints - woodblock, lino, stonecuts etc. Thin high-quality
kozo papers will take a very fine- lined print and are especially effective
with a chine colle technique for intaglio- etching, drypoint and collograph.
•Mitsumata
is the "feminine element": graceful, delicate, soft and modest.
These papers have a warmer tone and are very absorbent. They are particularly
beautiful with printed colour and are good for relief prints. Mitsumata
fiber takes longer to grow and is thus a more expensive paper. It is
indigenous to Japan and is also farmed.
•Gampi
was the earliest and is considered to be the noblest fibre, 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 colle printmaking. Gampi has a natural 'sized' finish which does
not bleed when written or painted on and as a result is especially good
for stone lithography Rembrandt printed many of his most atmospheric
prints on gampi which absorbed the black ink richly, even when the paper
was very thin.
Other fibres such as hemp, abaca, rayon, esparto, and linen are sometimes
used in Japanese paper, or mixed in with the other fibres but none has
the intense absorbent quality of the three traditional fibres. In modern
times woodpulp has often been added to bulk up a paper (and cheapen
it) to satisfy the 20th-century taste for thick inexpensive paper, but
in fact thinner, pure-fibred Japanese papers take the printed line much
more directly and effectively and these papers have by far the greatest
strength and longevity. Thus the technique of Chine-colle was developed
in order to have the best surface for printing, but a thickness which
made the finished prints easier to handle.
Production
Methods
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 fibre 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.
Features
of Washi
•Warmth
-- Literally warmer to the touch, washi feels soft and creates a feeling
of warmth in the viewer. Its tactile qualities make it wonderful for
invitations and books.
•Colour--
The unbleached tone of each of the three traditional fibres has lured
many artists to use them over the centuries and many viewers to respond
to the visual warmth. In an era when we are increasingly aware of
the damage done to our environment by bleach, pure white paper becomes
more and more inimical to a sustainable planet.
•Body
-- Since the fibres are left long and pounded and stretched rather
than chopped, washi has a surprising strength. Pure-fibred washi can
even be sewn and was used for armour and kimono linings in earlier
times.
•Strength
-- The length of the fibres and the nature of the raw materials ensure
that washi is highly workable when wet. Thus it is excellent for papier
mache, and etching in which the paper must be soaked. These long fibres
produce a luxurious deckle edge, the rough edge which marks a handmade
paper.
•Soft
translucency -- Kozo and mitsumata are naturally translucent fibres,
a quality specific to paper from the East. As such, it is used regularly
for the transmission of light.
•Absorbency
-- The nature of the fibres creates a ready absorption of inks and
dyes. Papers that are "pure fibred" and dyed will result
in much denser and more vibrant colour when fabric or watercolour
dyes are applied.
•Flexibility
-- Since the fibres 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 colourful designs applied by woodblock or handcut
stencils have created vividly characteristic papers for decorative
use. Recently silkscreened 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.
Washi
for Printmaking
The special absorbency, strength, texture and wide range
of colour of washi can be used extensively to give depth and beauty
to any print technique. Traditional Japanese printmaking was woodblock,
but washi is also apt for use in wood engraving, linoblock, or letterpress
techniques. It responds well to embossing, and can be used effectively
for multi-colour lithographs and chine-colle (etching).
Rembrandt
often used Japanese paper for his fine etchings; Whistler, perhaps inspired
by Rembrandt's prints from centuries before, was moved by the absorbency
and warm coloration of washi and its ability to pick up every detail
of his etched plates. He encouraged many other Paris-based artists in
the late 19th century to follow suit, and many prints from this period
evidence the use of washi. Then it was hard to find and much sought
after, and continued to be difficult to get in artistic communities
outside Japan for many decades. Even now, at the beginning of the 21st
century, it is not easy to find a wide variety of high-quality Japanese
paper, even in Japan.
The
Japanese Paper Place
Since 1980, The Japanese Paper Place has been collecting, storing and
selling an ever-increasing quantity of the best papers for artists which
are still made in Japan.Today we stock hundreds of handmade Japanese
papers in many sizes and formats, weights and colours selling through
our artists' resource centre in Toronto (where we also collect and show
the work of many artists who work on washi), as well as via Internet
and mail. Gradually artists using many techniques (painting, drawing,
collage, papier mache) are discovering the special qualities of washi,
but much more research needs to be done by printmakers whose techniques
requiring absorbency, interesting texture and rich or subtle colour
can best utilize the potential of these powerful papers.
Nancy Jacobi
The Japanese Paper Place
77 Brock Ave.
Toronto, ON, Canada M6K 2L3
washi@japanesepaperplace.com
http://www.japanesepaperplace.com
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All illustrations below are prints from the Japanese
Paper Place collection done on their papers. Click to see image enlarged.
"Quick
Said the Bird," by Michael Earle, Chine collé with intaglio,
13 gr. gampi.
Etching on handmade gampi etching paper by Pawel Zablocki.
Wood engraving by George Walker on gampi paper.
Lisa Levitt, "Folded Shirt", Linocut on Usukuchi
Kozo.
Tara Bryan, "The Summer at the Beach", Photolitho,
Handmade Uwa Senka Kozo.
Kenojouak, "My Mother, Myself", Stoneprint,
Handmade dyed Kozo, Courtesy of Cape Dorset Printmaking Co-op.
Cybe'le Young, Chine-colle' Intaglio
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