Above: visit at Kochi Museum in Ino City; dinner at Echizen Province; papermaking in Toyama, Japan
THE ART OF WASHI
So much has been written about Washi, it's a wonder we are not all experts on the subject. It has been given names such as "rice paper" (a misnomer), China paper, Oriental paper, all of which encompass thousands of different qualities. Not only is Washi an art form with its own national treasures, it is a staple of life in everyday modern Japan. You will find it in the home, where Fusuma adorn sliding doors. In Shoji screens, where most utilize a plain white, strong Hosho type paper. In decorative objects, like jewelry and other boxes, which use Yuzen and other printed papers. Sandwiched between glass are the sheerest laces and tissues with embedments for modern apartments. Miniature dolls sporting momigami (crinkled paper) combined with chirigami (printed papers) can be found in wall decors all over the country. My twelve day trek through Japan immersed me in Washi, but then again, I had waited for this opportunity for most of my career, so I didn't mind.
click on thumbnails to enlarge
Morishitagami # 1 geometric
Morishitagami # 2 Floral
Morishita # 3 Geometric
Morishita Gami # 8 Hexagons
MORISHITA GAMI WRAPPING PAPER
These exquisite rayon tissue papers go a lot farther than wrapping; if you look at the thumbnails above, I printed 3 of them with various designs: the first is, very simply, the name of the manufacturer. The second was a digital photo I had taken of a flower and the third was just some script which looked really interesting, and added to the romance of the sheet. So, yes, you can print on these tissues.
What about this rayon stuff? History tells us that the Japanese were not first in introducing rayon to papermaking, but rather it was the Germans that proposed the idea back in 1928, and patented the first bonding of rayon papers in 1936.
Some thirty years later, the Japanese adopted the fiber in the production of shoji screens, and since then, the fiber has been widely used all over the country for paper manufacturing. Since it is eco-friendly and biodegradable, its use has expanded from shoji screen paper to fusuma (papers used on doors), wallpaper, wrapping paper for agricultural products, trays and wet tissue papers. As far as the artist community is concerned, our first taste of this fiber came in the form of rayon unryu tissue, which was thin, strong, durable, and more economical than kozo based Unryu. Rayon is one of the primary materials used by the Morissa Mill which make the Sanwa tissues and colored laces.
The sheets from Morishita are elegant, whimsical, decorative and just fun!! Their strength could inspire all sorts of applications. And as you can see from the thumbnails below, the range is quite extensive.
NOTE : though not apparent from the thumbnails, the colored portion of the designs on these tissues have a slight shimmer on the surface. Additionally, most backgrounds are lighter than they appear.
Morishitagami Turquoise #18
Morishitagami Turquoise # 16
Morishitagami Turquoise #31
Morishitagami Turquoise #14
Morishitagami Turquoise #4
Morishitagami Turquoise #27
Morishitagami Turquoise #12
Morishitagami Turquoise #1
Morishitagami Turquoise #24
more colors coming soon
THE NEW FACE OF TAIREI
Tairei is probably one of the most popular papers of Japanese origin, and owes its popularity to its incredible versatility. Gone are the days when Tairei was stocked in single or double digit numbers only; though we cannot deny that Tairei # 1 is still king when it comes to invitations, and card stock Tairei # 44 has no parallel.
However, the new colors of Tairei are literally a dance. The character of the sheet is the same; 90 gsm in 25" x 37" (double weight is only available on special order). This time, the fibers are multicolored, a fern green color, a pale lavender color, or royal gold. Added bonus: as the fibers are only on one side, the reverse is the base color, and perfectly usable and printable. I remember when I was in Japan standing on top of the machine that produced Tairei; the platform was simply huge, and to its side was a funnel shaped "gizmo" where the fibers would be introduced so that they would fall into the wet pulp as the sheet was formed. Amazing.
Tairei will love your ink jet printer, or your laser printer for that matter. It is a dream on a xerox machine as well. Let's not omit the usual printing methods, including offset, like silkscreen, engraving, letterpress and pen & ink. Sumi-e would work well, but not watercolor. Don't exclude shoji screens, fusuma doors, lampshades and anything to embellish a scrapbook. Stationery is a natural.
The manufacturers' suggested retail price is $2.50/sheet.
Tairei White Multi 302
Tairei Yellow Multi 304
Tairei Peach Multi 306
Tairei Mint Multi 308
Tairei Powder Blue Multi 310
Tairei Lilac Multi 312h
Tairei Salmon Multi 314
Tairei French Grey Multi 316
Tairei Canary Iris 321
Tairei Lettuce Iris 323
Tairei Powder Blue Iris 324
Tairei Khaki Green Iris 325
Tairei Shrimp Iris 326
Tairei Grey Green Iris 329
Tairei Sandalwood Lilac 330
Tairei Grey Dark Iris 332
Tairei Lemon Fern 341
Tairei Chai Fern 342
Tairei French Grey Fern 343
Tairei Sky Blue Fern 344
Tairei Shrimp Fern 345
Tairei Antique Rose Fern 346
Tairei Olive Fern 347
Tairei Chai Fern 348
Tairei Taupe Fern 349
Tairei Green Grey Fern 350
Tairei Charcoal Fern 351
Tairei Medium Blue Fern 353
Tairei Plum Gold 354
Tairei Beige Gold 361
Tairei French Grey Gold 362
Tairei Peach Gold 363
Tairei Lettuce Gold 364
Tairei Papaya Gold 366
Tairei Medium Blue Gold 367
Tairei Charcoal Gold 368
ECHIZEN
Echizen is a name that has gained much notoriety in the US in the last couple of decades, owing to the mostly delicious papers they produce. What exactly is Echizen, and why is it important in the paper domain? Why do we need to choose papers from that specific cooperative, when there are so many others in the world, let alone Japan. Do you believe that practice makes perfect? Well then, these folks have more than 15 centuries of papermaking on their resume.
Echizen is located in Fukui Prefecture which lies at the center of the districts on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Historically, Fukui Prefecture has long maintained close cultural and economic ties with Kyoto and Nara since ancient times. Under the ancient provincial system, it was divided into the provinces of Echizen and Wakasa. It was incorporated under the prefectural system in 1881, and called Fukui Ken. It is through Wakasa Bay that Chinese and Korean culture were imported and assimilated. The area is favored with a temperate climate, abundant rainfall and distinct changes of season, though there are heavy snows during the winter. This promotes crop growth, with rice being the principle staple. Textile mills developed rapidly in the Meiji period (1869-1912), and nearly half of the population is involved in textile related industries.
Fukui has been referred to as a Phoenix city as it was ravaged twice and completely rebuilt. It developed as a castle town under Katsuie Shibata, who built his castle in 1575. The Matsudaira,during the Edo Era governed Echizen. In 1945, the city was badly burned and again in 1948 was virtually destroyed by an earthquake. But as the mythical Phoenix, it has risen from the ashes.
THE LEGEND
Tradition holds that about 1500 years ago, a goddess is said to have appeared by the Okafuto stream. She told the farmers of the area that the village had beautiful clear water, and thus she would teach them how to make paper so that they, and their coming generations would make a living. It takes about ten years to become an accomplished papermaker following the traditional methods which have been handed down throughout the centuries.
ECHIZEN HANDMADE KOZO
Handmade colored Kozo papers, or mingei-shi as they are called in Japan, have been in use forever. They were imported into the US decades ago under the name "Moriki", and came in a variety of colors and white. The paper was pure Kozo, then it was partially Kozo, acid free, medium weight at about 45 gsm and had lovely laid lines. It was the perfect vehicle for woodcuts, lino cuts, sumi-e, Chinese calligraphy, letterpress printing, and was usually 25" x 37" with four deckles. At some point in time, as the market and suppliers were changing, it became known as "Yatsuo". No matter what it was called, as long as it possessed those characteristics, it was fine. Another beautiful feature of the paper are the brush strokes which can be seen on the surface; click on the very light pink to the right where they are most noticeable.
Daniel Waters from Indian Hill Press was so happy with the paper that he has re-ordered it. Encouraged by the positive response to this wonderful sheet, we are showing to the right an extended range of the colors, though not all. The most popular still remain with white and off white, the first two in the chart. Should there be a color missing, or one that you'd like to purchase, please email me and let me know what you are looking for. MSRP is $4.50/sh.
Echizen Kozo is handmade, acid free and 100% kozo fiber. It measures 25" x 38" and is a favorite of artists who do letterpress printing and woodblocks. The colors don't bleed or fade; after all, the folks at Echizen have had 1500 of experience making paper. Please note that the minimum order per color is 100 sheets.
Click on thumbnails for full description
THE LITTLE RED HEN
The handmade prints you see on the left were done by Daniel Waters of the Indian Hill Press in Massachusetts. Please note that all images are copyrighted, therefore, please do not use or duplicate without permission of the artist. A linoleum cut is a relief printmaking technique and joins the family of the woodcut, the wood engraving, and the chiaroscuro woodcut. In lino or woodcuts, the design is drawn on a wood plank or a piece of linoleum, and those areas that are not to print are cut away well below the surface with a knife or gouge. In the chiaroscuro woodcut, the design is divided among several blocks, each to print a different color, with or without overlaps. As it implies, it makes use of the "light/dark" technique to achieve its results.
Finally, in a wood engraving, tools similar to metal engraving are used on polished blocks of end-grain wood, but instead of producing lines that will print, they are used to produce non-printing lines. It is the uncut surface that will take the ink and print.
Mokume Wood 6722
Mokume Wood 6710
Mokume Wood 6712
Mokume Wood 6700
Mokume Wood 6716
Mokume Wood 6718
Mokume Wood 6721
Mokume Wood 6711
Mokume Wood 6723
MOKUME
If you happen to be a silversmith, or a swordsman, then the words "Mokume Gane" will be very familiar to you. Chances are that you are neither, so here we go: in the early 17th century (around 1630 AD),in Echizen Province , a master metalsmith used this technique to embellish samurai swords. The metal would be layered and cut in such a way as to make it look like wood grain. Mokume means wood in Japanese.
To the left, you can see a variety of simulated woodgrain papers; they are all superb in color and replication, as they are machinemade and very lightweight. They can be used in any application where the natural look of wood is desirable. They are laser friendly, and tear quite easily. How handsome would they be as laminates for furnishings? An annual report on forestry products? A scrapbook page capturing a camping trip? Available in rolls and extra large sheets on special order.
Fukui Prefecture in Echizen is the oldest and largest papermaking cooperative in all of Japan. Stand by to see more of their magnificent papers.
YOU HAD TO BE THERE
I have started posting some photos from my trip to Echizen province to the various papermaking workshops and the homes in which I was welcomed. This is a work in progress.
