Making washi is somewhat akin to making fine wine. Certain types of washi are made in specific regions of Japan and often carry the names of those locations, much as fine wines may be named for the specific regions in Europe where special grapes were cultivated and unique winemaking methods were developed to process those particular grapes. Likewise, the choicest paper is skillfully made from only specific sections of carefully cultivated and harvested plants, grown in just the right regions, harvested at just the right time. The growing location is critical, because the climate dictates the plant’s growth rate. The process selected for making a particular type of washi depends on the characteristics of the source materials, so it must be adjusted and refined accordingly. There are so many variables in making washi that the analogy of making fine wine is not too far off the mark.
Washi is produced by processing select bast fibers from only a few species of plants, particularly from the paper mulberry (Kozo), Mitsumata, and Gampi. These bast fibers come from the clean, nearly white, inner bark layer, also called the phloem (not the dark, outer bark). Under a microscope, the phloem is a complex, lacey plant tissue, a system of specialized cells including vertical sieve elements, with sieve plates located at the top and at the bottom ends of these long, skinny cells. There are also companion cells surrounding the sieve elements, thought to provide nourishment and functional control of the transportation and movements of sugar and mineral solutions. This tissue achieves a rapid transport of fluids between cells.
In contrast, on the inner side of the growing, cambium layer of cells, are the woody tissues, including the xylem and the pithy, structural core. These layers consist of stiffer, tougher, and thicker cellulose, with smaller cell walls that become woody from amorphous, polymeric deposits made by the plant. These woody tissues require a greater amount of processing, both mechanical and chemical, to make even a low-grade paper, such as that used for disposable napkins, toilet and facial tissue, or inexpensive office paper.
In the washi-making process, after the stems are cut, the bark is stripped off the wood, the bast fibers are separated from the darker bark, and the thin, green, growing layer of undifferentiated cambium is scraped away. At this stage, the fiber is often dried and shipped to processors. Processing the bast fibers by boiling in a caustic (alkaline chemical) solution digests, and allows the removal of, the cambium and companion cell protoplasm. Bits of bark, lignin, and semi-digested cambium still adhere to the mash and must be removed, often by hand with tweezers. Boiling thus makes it easier to clean, separate, and splay the remaining tubes of sieve element tissue. The fraying of these strong, long fibers in the beating process allows them to knit together in a tangled mat as the sheet of paper is being formed. This increased surface area becomes “hydrated” during beating, which allows these sites to be attracted to each other by hydrogen-bonding. The length and strength of fibers, the correct degree of hydration, and the intimacy of physical entanglement makes for strong, supple washi.
Expert papermakers were so fastidious about removing any contamination (or chiri) and discarded so much useful cellulose with the waste that they were able to make low-grade paper with the dregs. This is called chirigami. Because the best paper-makers rejected more impurities, and thus more bast along with them, even their waste paper was strong. It was said that the best way to judge a papermaker was to evaluate the quality of his chirigami. Today, these papers are appreciated for the flecks and bits of impurities that lend chirigami a rustic, earthy quality.
KINDS OF WASHI
Although there are dozens of types of washi, this section describes the general categories of washi that you are likely to find today. Traditionally, washi was formed and treated in special ways to produce paper for different purposes, therefore with different qualities. Maniai-shi included paper with clay added to keep it from puckering, especially useful when the paper will be hung from the wall as backing for artwork or a sign. Waterproof papers made by oiling washi with rapeseed were used for packaging, umbrellas, and raincoats. Tougher, thicker papers were made for tags and cards, while thinner papers, called usuyo-shi, were primarily used for filtration, packaging delicate items, and artful wrapping.
There are excellent books on washi that break these major categories into several subsets of washi types. Though the names of the same papers in different locations and countries have changed over time, resulting in some confusion, this book uses the most recent and common trade names, which you are likely to find in catalogs, on the Internet, and in paper shops. In this book we will focus on the techniques that will help you use washi successfully, regardless of its common name or makeup. The following descriptions and photos will help you to identify and select the proper washi for each project and give you an idea about the types of washi-like papers you may wish to make yourself.
Natural washi is white to tan in color and is made from one or more of the three traditional washi fiber sources: Gampi (Wikstroemia diplomorpha), Mitsumata (Edgeworthia chrysantha), and Kozo (Broussonetia papyrifera). Natural washi may be brightened by drying in the sunlight, but it is usually not colored by additives such as dyes, pigments, or clay.
Dyed washi is available in many colors and weights. Dyes, however, are usually not light-fast, so be careful before you choose solid-colored washi for a project you want to display in sunlight or keep for generations.
Chirigami is natural washi with chopped bits of the dark bark included. The result is a rustic-looking paper, flecked with dark flakes and strands.
Chiyogami washi is decorated with patterns, animals, flowers, symbols, and auspicious icons, to illustrate traditional celebrations and the changing seasons. It is traditionally printed using woodblock techniques. Chiyogami stenciled with kimono fabric–inspired patterns, called yuzen, is also popular. Traditionally, a separate stencil or woodblock is used for each color.
Tie-dyed and/or fold-dyed washi is colorful, often with kaleidoscopic patterns that are produced by folding, twisting, tying, and dying the paper. Elaborate patterns result when the process is repeated using different dyes and other physical restraints, masks, or resists.
Momigami is washi that has been crumpled by hand to give the paper texture. A special paste, made from konnyaku starch from the root of the Amorphophallus konjac plant, is then applied, usually to one side only. The paper is then crumpled, opened, and crumpled again. Done repeatedly, the process develops an intricate surface texture, similar to crepe paper, and the sheet shrinks in size.
Unryu washi, also known as unryushi, has large pieces of partially beaten fibers included for texture, which create a floating cloud-like effect. Sometimes, patterned screens are raised through the vat of fibers and then applied to plain sheets of washi; these elements often resemble a “fiber-optic” effect, catching light in beautiful patterns of shimmering silkiness.
Suminagashi, meaning flowing ink, is marbled washi made by floating colored swirls of inks on water. As the washi is carefully laid on the ink swirls, the color is taken up into the washi, which is then dried. These delicate pastel patterns form pleasing, serendipitous designs.
USES