Japanese Paper Decoration: Kirabiki and Gubiki
In addition to gold and silver leaf, powdered mica (a transparent silicate called kira in Japanese) is also used as a material for paper decoration. Similarly, powder was also made from the ground shells of clams and other mollusks. These decorative mediums are known as kirabiki and gubiki.
Kirabiki
When powdered mica is sprinkled on a sheet of paper pre-coated with nikawa (an organic adhesive made from animal parts), the paper acquires a sparkling sheen. Alternatively, the mica powder can be mixed with nikawa glue and then applied to the paper. The former technique is known as kirachirashi (lit. “mica dusting”), kirasunago-chirashi (lit. “mica powder-dusting”), etc. and the latter is called kirabiki (lit. “mica coating”). If a large amount of mica powder is used, the first method can also be called kirazuri (lit. “mica rubbing”). Besides books, this technique is used in ukiyoe woodblock prints (“pictures of the floating world”). The people of the past were obviously fascinated by the effects that these materials allowed to create.
Gubiki
As an alternative to mica, powder was also made by baking and grinding the shells of clams and other mollusks. The resulting powder is called gofun (shell white, a form of calcium carbonate commonly known as chalk). Gofun is mixed with nikawa to create a white, paint-like substance that is applied to the paper using a brush. This technique is called gubiki (“shell white coating”). Color pigments can be added to the gofun to obtain a variety of different colors. Examples of gubiki paper date from the Heian period and from the Edo period, when the decoration styles of Heian-period books were often imitated.
Watch the video to see examples of glossy paper made using the kirachirashi and kirabiki techniques and an example of thicker paper decorated with the gubiki technique.
Books introduced in the video:
- Ko Tekagami (Small Tekagami), Edo period
Click to see the image and information - Bunshō Sōsi, (The Tale of Bunshō, early-Edo period copy)
Click to see the image and information - Funa benkei (Kōetsu utai-bon), (Noh play, Keichō era)
Click to see the image and information
The Art of Washi Paper in Japanese Rare Books
The Art of Washi Paper in Japanese Rare Books
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