Japanese Handmade Paper

Japan has long been the world's leader when it comes to handmade papers, many of them unique and quite exotic. Hand made paper is a part of the Japanese Culture. This ancient art form began 2,000 years ago. Today's hand made papers are a mixture of traditional techniques and contemporary design.

Japanese handmade paper is most commonly called Washi paper. It is also called wagami and it refers to all types of Japanese Paper including traditional handmade paper. Knowledge of making washi is traditionally said to have arrived from Korea in 610, with the Korean monk Donchou. Washi is one of the four materials--wood, earth, paper, reeds--of a traditional Japanese Houses.

Japanese Handmade Paper Making
Japanese handmade paper making is an art of pride, craftsmanship, and creativity. Paper making in Japan is a winter activity. It is a slack-season work for farmers, and the paper is made wherever there is a good and abundant supply of soft, running water and where the bast fiber plants can grow.

Kozo, mitsumata, and gampi are the three Japanese shrubs whose fibers are most often used for making Japanese papers and they also employ the use of a glutinous substance called neri to add body and strength to their paper. The combination of these fibers and neri produce a quality paper with even the sheerest being able to withstand centuries of wear. Hemp, bamboo, and various other fibers account for a tiny percent of the washi made, mainly for special purposes, such as calligraphy practice.

Japanese Paper Industry
Tosa Prefecture on Shikoku Island, now known as Kochi is often referred to as "Tosa the Kingdom of paper". Kochi Prefecture is still Japan`s main producing center of raw materials and homemade paper. Several towns such as Tosa and Ino are well known for their traditional local paper industries.

The transnational flow of fibre through the Japanese paper industry links dispersed economies and environments. The Japan Paper Association believed that domestic demand for paper and board will grow by 1.5% in 2000, to reach 31,467,000 tons. Paper and paperboard production in 2002 was 30,690 thousand tons, which was 1.5 times as much as recorded in 1985 and 1.1 times that of 1990. In the later years the export and import market of Japanese paper will keep on increasing. Later the paper production was increased and it made a dramatic name in the paper industries spread globally.