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Ludlow Art Society. INFORMATION SHEET NO.1 : Oriental Handmade Paper by Christine Butler The word 'paper' comes from the Greek and the origin relates to the papyrus plant. The surface of various products had been used for writing for many centuries but these materials could not have been described as 'paper', at least not as we know it today. The early materials were mainly woven reeds or bamboo stems, the inner bark from trees that had been hammered flat, thin pieces of tree bark carefully cut into thin slices or parchment or vellum made from animal skins. In later times cloth was used as one of the alternative bases for writing. The Chinese were already familiar with the process of felt making from wool long before they moved to weaving of cloth from stranded or spun wool. It is fairly certain that the idea for making paper came from linking how similar the trimmings from uneven and ragged edges of woven fabric looked when compared to the raw materials used in the much older felt making process. Ancient records tell us that the process of producing paper was first recorded in the Lei-yang district of China by Ts'ai Lun in AD 105. It is not known if Ts'ai was the actual inventor or the local government official who reported the revolutionary event. During the next 500 years the secret of making paper was kept within the Chinese borders until it eventually found its way into Japan via Korea in about 610. The Japanese were soon dedicated to the production of this new material that they called washi. It was reported that by the 800's a special papermaking guild had been formed, linked to the royal court and that it had been established to encourage both papermaking skills and to promote quality. In its simplest form the process of producing true paper can be described as taking macerated vegetable fibres, mixing them in water and then lifting some of them out on a screened mould, so that the water drains away until all that is left is a fine layer of matted fibre. After drying, the sheet of matted fibre can then be recognised as a form of paper. Of course it's not that easy. The basic method of production, as recorded in Japan, is fundamentally unchanged from earlier times. It can be summarised as follows, Harvesting. The trees or shrubs are gathered in the autumn, after leaf drop. Some have a life span of between 3 and 10 years depending on the variety, and harvesting was a community activity involving both young and old throughout the village and surrounding countryside. Steaming - Hammering - Stripping. Here the rough outer bark is removed so that the inner white bark is obtained. Soaking - Washing. This part of the operation softens the 'bast' or inner bark and the mix, which often included lime, is left steeping for up to 4 months. Cooking. The 'bast' is steeped in an alkali solution, traditionally water that has been leached through wood or straw ash. In modern processes this part of the production is done with sodium carbonate or sodium hydroxide (caustic soda). These strong chemicals do give a very white but unnatural colour. Sorting. Cleaning takes place throughout the process. At this stage however the fibres are already semi-disintegrated and impurities can be easily identified, for example specks of black outer bark, and these are taken out by hand. Beating. The fibres are beaten, first under water, until they are very soft and look like pulp. Sheet Forming. Here the mould and its screen is dipped into a bath that contains the floating pulp. In the bath special ingredients like natural insect repellents and plant gums have been added that enable the fibres to cling together so that each individual sheet fibres can be laid down very thinly, the consistency of the liquid is very important and the formulas are today a closely guarded secret. The Japanese words nagashi-zuki have been translated to mean 'the flowing or sloshing way to make paper' and making sheets of paper in this way can mean that it often takes between 65-95 seconds at the bath for each sheet for it is at this stage that the eventual sheet thickness is determined. The final sheet however, will be extremely strong despite its delicate looking texture. (Interestingly the words for the Western method of this production stage are tame-zuki which have been translated as the 'fill it up and hold it' way to make paper. Typically the modern process takes only 4-5 seconds and paper made this way is much thicker, has no directional strength and often has within in it all sorts of knots and clumps of uneven fibre. The normal Western paper is made from wood pulp and rags. It has a very small fibre length as the indifferent material is chopped, cut, crushed and generally hacked to it's death before it is eventually reconstituted and called 'paper'.) Stacking – Pressing. The wet, glutinous sheets of paper are stacked but without the need for felt separator sheets associated with Western paper. Drying. The individual paper sheets were originally brushed onto boards made from 'gingko wood' in the open air, and could be likened to wallpapering wet sticky pieces of tissue paper-– without tears or wrinkles. Packing. The paper is re-bundled and then carefully delivered to the customer. Handmade Japanese paper was normally produced from the inner bark of young trees that were mainly of kozo or mitsumata or gampi varieties. The cultivation of these trees used to be part of the community's winter farming activities and in many of the smaller villages the 'phases of the moon' was used to control both the planting and harvesting. Each family in a village would gradually develop their own styles and techniques. In the olden days hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of different paper varieties and qualities were available. Early in the 9th Century paper recycling was already well established. Kamiya-gami or paper-shop-paper was easy to distinguish by its grey colour that was a direct effect from the ink and coloured pigments used on the originals. By the 14th Century the introduction of two separate guilds or za had been established to control the substantial recycled paper market. Paper was often treated with the fermented juice of persimmissons to give it an extra insect repellent quality and if the paper was oiled at a later stage it then became a popular material used for umbrellas, windows, hats, and interior household screens. It is interesting to note that to make 5kgs of Oriental paper the original quantity of young trees needed amounted to almost 100kgs. The weight of an individual sheet is normally measured at a rate of between 14-50gms and can be compared to ordinary Western watercolour paper that will vary between 200-600gms. A single sheet of ordinary cleansing tissue would measure perhaps 15-20gms. In the mid 1800's over 100,000 households were engaged in making handmade paper and the production capacity had reached it's peak. By mid 1950 the number had reduced to approximately 10,000 and by the early 1980's the figure was estimated at only 500. Today the figure is probably less than 200 and in many areas some of the ancient techniques have been compromised by the use of modern technology. The tradition of Oriental papermaking is still maintained today, particularly in Japan. Here the ancient skills are practised, albeit on a much smaller scale than in previous times. Japanese paper or washi is still carefully produced from raw natural fibres having a length that is perhaps x10 longer than western equivalents. The length of these fibres, together with neri (paste from the Torroro-aoi plant) and the Japanese paper making process, probably produces the thinnest, strongest and most beautiful papers known to mankind. Japanese and other Oriental papers are produced to meet specific requirements and are remarkably consistent in their quality considering the techniques employed in their production. Many varieties are still available today and some of the more frequent ones are ZENYU, SEKISHU SHI, GIFU, SHOJI, KAWASAKI, SHIOHARA, USIMINO, KOZO SHI, ZUMAKA, HOSOKAWA and KAWANAKA. These varieties are only a selection and there is a wide range that can be obtained that have different finishes, textures, colours, strengths and thickness. Often however some features seems to be consistent - the ability of Oriental washi to soak up water like blotting paper, the thinness of the sheet and the very high strengths achieved from the hand-making process.
Both of these books are excellent value for money. They have very informative and interesting text together with beautiful illustrations and pictures. Anyone wishing to learn about the history of Oriental papermaking would be well advised to start with these two volumes. © Copyright Christine Butler June 2001. |