Paper

Kami

Paper plays a major role in Japanese culture. One immediately thinks of the delicate and traditional art of origami, or paper folding, which requires great skill, but that is just one of the many possibilities of this material.

According to records, paper manufacturing was introduced to Japan in the 7th century. Its Japanese name, kami (紙), sounds the same as the word 神 (also read “kami”), which refers to deities, entities, and spirits of nature within Japanese culture. Although the spellings and etymologies are distinct, there is a poetic coincidence in this sound that ultimately makes paper something even more special, as it can be understood as a medium for the expression of the sacred.

In Shinto practice, for instance, there are rituals and offerings made using paper, such as haraigushi, a purification wand consisting of a rod with strips of white paper (or linen) attached to one end. It is waved by a priest over the person, place, or object to be purified. There is also the gohei, in which strips of paper are cut in a zigzag pattern—white, gold, silver, or multicolored—and attached to a rod (called heigushi), made of bamboo or wood, intended for the deities or serving as an element of purification. No less important are the shide, formed by attaching hanging strips of paper or fabric to a sakaki branch, a rod, or a shimenawa (sacred rope marking a sacred boundary); they are most often found as part of instruments used in purification rituals, but are also hung on sacred ropes to symbolize sacred boundaries.

Beyond this symbolic dimension, traditional Japanese handmade paper—known as washi—is of great importance, and its quality is renowned worldwide. Made from the fibers of native plants such as kozo (paper mulberry), gampi (a Japanese shrub of the genus Wikstroemia), and mitsumata (Edgeworthia chrysantha), it is characterized by its strength and flexibility. During its production process, the fibers are carefully treated: as they are bleached in pure water and dried in the sun, their surface continuously transforms, revealing different shades of white. Lightweight and soft in texture, the fibers overlap, forming tiny layers of air. Although the paper may appear delicate, it is difficult to tear, which gives it various uses: as a covering for sliding doors and partitions—shoji and fusuma—, allowing natural light to enter subtly; in the creation of traditional andon-style lanterns; in calligraphy, such as sumi-e, and in traditional Japanese painting (nihonga); and even in the production of fabric, such as the so-called shifu.

This myriad of uses and possibilities offered by washi led to the production practices of three communities—Misumi-cho, Shimane Prefecture; Mino City, Gifu Prefecture; and Ogawa/Higashi-Chichibu Village, Saitama Prefecture—being recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2014.

Technical advice provided by Kazuyuki Natori, President of the Japan Color Research Institute (General Incorporated Foundation), and Shoko Isawa, former professor at Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University and Ph.D. in Engineering.

Source: Special Color Dictionary Wonderful & Beautiful 888. Supervised by Teruko Sakurai. Published by Tokyo Shoseki.