What waste paper can reveal

We’ve seen that used paper was often recycled inside the covers of Japanese books in the past.

But these scraps are more than just waste — they can preserve valuable clues about the history of books and publishing.

Let’s look inside some surviving examples and see what unexpected information these reused sheets can reveal.

Book featured in the video

• Azuma kagami 東鑑. 1626, woodblock edition, private collection