Course: The Art of Washi Paper in Japanese Rare Books

In Japan, papermaking techniques spread to almost the entire country during the Edo period(1603–1868), and paper was used in all areas of daily life, not just books. Even today, the …

Let’s look at how koyori (paper strings) for binding fukurotojihon are made. In particular, let’s see how the inner binding of an old book is made with a koyori. As …

Paper properties are affected not only by raw materials and the papermaking method, but also by the alignment of fibers, which is called “fiber orientation.” Here we’ll learn more about …

Let’s learn about book manufacturing from Ōiri Co., Ltd., a modern-day kyōji. First of all, what structures do books have? Let’s identify the different types of books and their binding …

When was paper disseminated to the world? And how? Let’s trace the path of dissemination from its origin in China, to Western Europe, and on to America. The world’s oldest …

Book are not always made only of paper. Book covers, for instance, were often made of fabric. Kire (fragments) are scraps of ancient fabric. In the video, the following types …

Week 2 will have given you an idea of the great variety of decorated papers used in traditional Japanese bookmaking. There are also many less common types of paper that …

Now that you’ve made your way through the course we would like to thank you for staying with us until the end. Watch the video to see Professor Sasaki and …

Prior to writing on them, the pages of traditional books were often decorated with painted motifs such as birds, plants, etc. using gold or silver paint (kindei and gindei). Because …

Next, we look at other kinds of paper that, like karakami, originally came to Japan from China. To make rōsen (wax-rubbed paper), gubiki paper (see Step 2.14) is placed on …

Unlike regular karakami, in which the blocks are first smeared with paint and then pressed onto the paper, the designs are applied to the paper by pressing it against the …

Although the techniques we have seen so far make use of dyes the main ingredient is still paper. We will now discuss decoration techniques in which mineral materials are mixed …

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. When powdered mica is sprinkled …

As our last example of paper decorated using minerals we look at karakami (Chinese-style paper). The word Karakami originally referred to paper imported from China (Kara = Cathay) but over …

As our final example of decoration applied at the sheet-forming stage we look at mizutama-gami or “polka dots paper”. Mizutamagami is made by adding a thin layer of indigo or …