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Chirigami is natural washi with chopped bits of the dark bark included. The result is a rustic-looking paper, flecked with dark flakes and strands.
Chiyogami washi is decorated with patterns, animals, flowers, symbols, and auspicious icons, to illustrate traditional celebrations and the changing seasons. It is traditionally printed using woodblock techniques. Chiyogami stenciled with kimono fabric–inspired patterns, called yuzen, is also popular. Traditionally, a separate stencil or woodblock is used for each color.
Tie-dyed and/or fold-dyed washi is colorful, often with kaleidoscopic patterns that are produced by folding, twisting, tying, and dying the paper. Elaborate patterns result when the process is repeated using different dyes and other physical restraints, masks, or resists.
Momigami is washi that has been crumpled by hand to give the paper texture. A special paste, made from konnyaku starch from the root of the Amorphophallus konjac plant, is then applied, usually to one side only. The paper is then crumpled, opened, and crumpled again. Done repeatedly, the process develops an intricate surface texture, similar to crepe paper, and the sheet shrinks in size.
Unryu washi, also known as unryushi, has large pieces of partially beaten fibers included for texture, which create a floating cloud-like effect. Sometimes, patterned screens are raised through the vat of fibers and then applied to plain sheets of washi; these elements often resemble a “fiber-optic” effect, catching light in beautiful patterns of shimmering silkiness.
Suminagashi, meaning flowing ink, is marbled washi made by floating colored swirls of inks on water. As the washi is carefully laid on the ink swirls, the color is taken up into the washi, which is then dried. These delicate pastel patterns form pleasing, serendipitous designs.
USES FOR WASHI
Washi can be used for nearly everything, but, before you begin a project, consider the following historical perspective.
Ceremonial Use and Formal Documents
Probably the oldest use for washi is for special ceremonial use and for formal documents. Even today, the paper used for treaties, certificates, and important awards is often made with special fibers and careful processes, because it is expected to last for many generations.
Writing and Calligraphy
Writing and calligraphy are arts that demand papers of the finest qualities for permanence and elegance. In particular, shodo, Japanese brush calligraphy, requires specific qualities of paper to properly handle the style of inks used. The washi chosen should give the calligraphy life, working in concert with it, rather than becoming subjected by the forms of the calligraphic characters. There must be balance, and strong calligraphy requires more “white space” to give it room to breathe. With washi, that “white space” becomes an integral element of the piece, and not just emptiness.
Shoji Screens
The shoji screen is much more than a room partition or divider. For the Japanese, it organizes life itself into pleasant, illuminated, harmonious spaces. These versatile paper walls were originally erected as stand-alone structures, but later they were made to easily slide open or closed, quickly and efficiently converting space as more or less was needed. Shadows and sounds play on the screen’s panels to enhance the mood of the space. Washi used for shoji screens is particularly clean and strong. After several months to a year, it is repaired or replaced, much as westerners spruce up their rooms with a new coat of paint. Simply hanging beautiful pieces of washi in windows with less than picturesque views is something that all of us can do to enjoy its qualities in the daylight.
Containers and Wrappings
The act of giving has been raised to an art form in Japan, similar to the elaborate process of the Japanese tea ceremony, with important symbolism associated with every element. It is common even for small items to be packaged with at least two, and often several, levels of containment, enhancing both the experience of receiving, as well as that of giving. This is why washi is commonly used to cover or make containers. The pleasing, often bright colors and patterns generate remarks of appreciation, leading to prolonged conversation during this important, gift-giving process. Often, the pattern or style of the paper container will contain a clue as to the contents. Usually it is simply beautiful, and somehow appropriate to the occasion or to the recipient. Washi containers such as boxes and vases are often used over and over again.
Impatient children today often tear through gift wrap before seeing anything except the size of the package, but in Japan, it is customary to politely savor the attractiveness of each level of wrapping around even the most humble of gifts or treats. Indeed, we have saved most of the washi wrappings and containers from the gifts we have received. These papers find new reincarnations as thank-you notes, folded ornaments, greeting cards, or cherished components of entries in our travel scrapbooks. Passing these beautiful papers on provides a simple way to establish a continuity for the relationship through the years.
Books
People love one-of-a-kind, handmade books, which seem to go through cycles of fashion. Books featuring unique, handmade papers are especially popular now. Many of our customers come looking for archival and decorative papers to complement their latest book-binding project. This has been one of the more popular projects using paper, because it is not difficult or expensive, and customized or personalized books always make great gifts.
Maybe you have found the perfect washi for a gift scrapbook. Maybe you want to print your own great novel, then lovingly bind it in handmade paper for casual display on your own (or perhaps your mother’s) coffee table. Here is an opportunity for you to self-publish an heirloom!
Works of Art
Many of the customers who purchase our handmade papers are artists who appreciate painting, contact printing, or incorporating handmade papers into multimedia art. Abstract artists compose overlapping fields and shapes of different types of washi into collages of handmade paper. The art of composing torn bits of washi is a time-honored art called chigiri-e, or “torn paper pictures.” In this art, different colors and textures of torn washi create collages of still life and scenery, similar to watercolors, yet composed entirely of handmade papers with no applied paints or inks. In sumi-e, Japanese ink painting, the strength of the brushstrokes, the line and form of the drawing, and the subtle gestures are enhanced by the way the specially-designed washi paper’s fibers handle ink. Many types of washi take watercolors beautifully.
Lanterns
Famous artists and origami experts have made careers of illuminating washi. The warmth of the fiber sheets, the irregular clumps, knots, and deckle edges capture light in magical ways. Washi is naturally light and airy. When illuminated globes or other forms are suspended, they may evoke the moon and stars. With proper safeguarding, a washi lantern may be the best way to appreciate the various forms and types of handmade paper.
