Japanese Washi Papers

In this blog article we want to explain a little about Japanese papers, unlike the manufacturing we have in Europe, the raw materials and the way they are made are different, which is why for some artists and also curators, some explanations can come in handy.

Many of them are used as restoration papers, especially those of low grammage, but they are also used for other things such as watercolors, engraving, drawing, origami or simply for construction decoration or wrapping a gift or product. After all, the imagination of creating something with paper is infinite.

To begin we should clarify what washi is, washi means in translation from Japanese as WA-SHI being WHA = Japanese SHI= paper, with which we would speak the Spanish translation of Japanese papers, using manual and traditional means.

Different types of raw materials to make Japanese paper

KOZO :

Kozo ( mulberry ) bark is used in approximately 90 % of the washi made today . Originally found in the mountain desert of the Kyushu and Shikoku islands, ozo became a plant used for making paper and cloth. It is a deciduous shrub that grows to a height of 3 to 5 meters with a stem up to 10 cm wide.

MITSUMATA:

A shrub that originated in China and grows up to 1.5 meters in height. It began to be used in the year 614 . The fibers are shorter than those of Kozo paper. Mitsumata papers have insect repellent qualities.

GAMPY:

A shrub found in the mountainous areas of Japan grows to over 1.5 meters in height. It has been used to make many types of washi for its high quality fiber extracted from the bark. The finished paper is somewhat translucent and has a glossy texture. THE Gampi cannot be cultivated and therefore it is rarer and more expensive than the previous ones.

NERI:

It is a Japanese paper-making material used to suspend the fibers in the water tank. Natural Neri comes from the root of the Tororo_Aoi plant (hibiscus family). The roots are crushed and immersed in water to extract the Neri. Today the Neri that is usually used is synthetic. (A chemical) This natural substitute chemical is sold in powder form and has an indefinite useful life as long as be dry.