Traditional Japanese artists, scrapbookers, crafters, modern artists, and bored college students all have one product and medium in common between them. What is this product? Washi paper.
From ancient shrines and screens to modern dorm rooms and textbooks, washi has proven an integral part of art and decor for over a millennium. What is washi paper, and why is it still in use even now? Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Washi Paper?
Washi paper refers to a type and method of making paper from Japan. It combines both gampi and kozo (or mulberry) fibers to create a product that’s remarkably flexible and strong, despite its thinness. These papers also absorb dye and color well, making them perfect for textured decorations.
True washi paper is hand-made by artisans on a seasonal basis, most often during winter. The process varies from artisan to artisan. However, it often involves harvesting branches from the shrubs used, stripping and steaming them down, and letting them dry into sheets.
How Is Washi Paper Used?
Washi paper has a variety of uses, both traditional and modern. Let’s take a closer look at each set below.
Traditional Uses of Washi Paper
Traditional Japanese washi paper was used in not only art but construction. Washi has been used in the screens of traditional Japanese homes as a means to filter light from the outside. Its flexibility also makes it an excellent choice in material for a lampshade.
In the art world, however, washi paper often got used for printing as an alternative to silk or wood blocks. Many people also used washi origami paper to fold a thousand cranes to send someone well-wishes. It was also a common source of ancient book-binding.
Modern Uses of Washi Paper
Nowadays, you’ll most often see washi paper used by artists in collages or as a medium for a drawing or painting. However, a common variant of the product, washi paper tape, makes an appearance in many renters’ and college students’ homes, as the decorative appearance allows them to spruce up their room without doing damage to the walls. You can even find antimicrobial paper made from washi if you search around.
The Benefits of Washi
In addition to its ancient roots, washi paper has many benefits that have allowed it to persist into the modern era. One of its biggest benefits is that it’s stronger than Western paper due to the longer fibers used in the process of making it. It’s also thinner than Western papers of similar strength.
Its construction of carefully-interconnected fibers gives it greater absorption, which makes it easy to work with for art and design, while its strength and flexibility allow it to be used in construction and even artifact restoration. There’s little this paper can’t do!
Back to Basics
Washi paper is a science and art dating back to over a millennium ago. While machines have made the process faster, most washi is still hand-made and keeps the traditions at heart. This is what gives it such a lasting place both in culture and as a paper product.
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