Long kōzo fibres give strength
Kōzo, often called paper mulberry, supplies long inner-bark fibres. They can form a thin, flexible but strong sheet. Those qualities help explain its use in both everyday objects and specialist conservation papers.
Illustrated Japanese Culture
Washi: fibres made into paper
和紙
Washi is Japanese paper made in traditions that use plant fibres such as kōzo, mitsumata and gampi. It serves writing, printing, furnishings and conservation. The name includes both handmade and machine-made papers, with different compositions and properties.
Kōzo, mitsumata and gampiCommon fibres
Fibre, forming method and intended useA useful distinction
The main fibres come from plants’ inner barkNot rice paper
01
Start with the fibre
Fibre and forming method vary; washi also includes machine-made paper.
Mitsumata and gampi make different papers
Mitsumata has finer fibres that produce a close-textured surface suited to printing and brushwork. Gampi can form a smooth, lustrous sheet. Washi may also contain other fibres or wood pulp, so the name alone does not tell you what a sheet is made from.
- Fibres in water
- Neri helps disperse fibres and controls drainage
Neri controls the fibres in water
Neri is a viscous plant preparation, often obtained from tororo-aoi roots or noriutsugi bark. It helps disperse the fibres and regulate the water during sheet formation. It is a papermaking aid, rather than simply glue holding a finished sheet together.
02
Following a sheet of Honminoshi
Clean and separate the inner bark
For Honminoshi in Mino, the white inner bark of kōzo is soaked, cooked in an alkaline solution, washed and carefully cleared of impurities. Beating separates the fibres so that they can disperse in water. Removing unwanted fragments is part of making a clean sheet.
The screen fits inside the frame during sheet formation.
A flexible screen sits in a wooden frame
Fibres, water and neri are mixed in a vat. The papermaker scoops the mixture with a bamboo screen held in a wooden frame and moves it so the fibres spread into an even layer. Repeated movement controls the sheet; this flowing method is called nagashizuki.
Drain, press and dry
The newly formed wet sheets are laid in a stack to drain and are then pressed. Honminoshi sheets are brushed onto boards and dried in the sun before selection. Other papers use different drying arrangements; this sequence describes one regional craft.
03
From imported knowledge to local production
- China: origins of papermaking
- Transmission through the Korean peninsula to Japan
- 610: a recorded transfer of knowledge; the technique may have arrived earlier
The technique came through East Asia
Papermaking began in China and reached Japan through the Korean peninsula. The Nihon Shoki records a monk bringing technical knowledge in 610, although papermaking may already have arrived with Buddhism. The entry is an important record, not a certain date for Japan’s first sheet.
Registers and printed prayers survive
Household registers from Mino, Chikuzen and Buzen dated to 702 survive in the Shōsōin collection. In the Hyakumantō Darani project completed in 770, printed Buddhist texts were placed inside small wooden pagodas. The Paper Museum holds a pagoda and a Jishin’in Darani scroll from this project. Paper served administration, religious practice and tribute.
Used paper could become a new sheet
Shukushi was made by breaking down used paper and forming it again. Residual ink gave it a pale grey colour. The practice is recorded from the Heian period onward; a surviving fragment of Emperor Fushimi’s poetry uses recycled paper on its right half.
- Production in Mino
- Ōyada paper market, 14th–16th centuries
- Merchants from Kyoto and Osaka
Regional paper moves through markets
During the medieval period, Mino paper circulated as gifts among warriors. From the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries, the Ōyada paper market connected local production with merchants from Kyoto and Osaka. Papermaking depended on trade and transport as well as the workshop.
04
Paper beyond the written page
Screens, lamps and umbrellas
By the Edo period, paper was used for shōji, fusuma, lanterns, umbrellas and toys as well as books and brushwork. Each use asks something different of the material. A paper umbrella needs treatment such as oiling; ordinary washi is not naturally waterproof.
Thin kōzo paper can support an old document
Conservators use carefully selected long-fibre kōzo papers for repairs and linings. A very thin sheet can supply support while remaining flexible. Fibre quality, additives and manufacture matter, so not every sheet labelled washi is suitable for long-term conservation.
- Honminoshi: kōzo and careful fibre preparation
- Sekishūbanshi: a strong regional paper
- Hosokawa-shi: records, books and packaging
Regional names carry practical differences
Sekishūbanshi is known for strength. Honminoshi emphasises an even distribution of fibres and transmission of light. Hosokawa-shi served account books, records and wrapping, among other uses. Their shared kōzo fibre does not make their production or uses identical.
05
Machines, changing demand and continued craft
Machine papermaking changes the industry
Western-style machine papermaking developed in Japan in the nineteenth century. Yūkōsha began production in 1874; the Shōshi Kaisha mill at Ōji opened in 1875. Today machine-made washi can use traditional bark fibres, wood pulp or mixtures, while handmade paper can also contain mixed fibres.
Everyday demand shifts
After the Second World War, changes in homes and daily life, together with competition from other paper, reduced demand for some Mino products. Craft production, new applications and conservation work have become important ways to keep papermaking skills in use.
Machine-made Mino paper on a stamp sheet
A souvenir sheet issued in 2021 for the 150th anniversary of Japan’s postal service used machine-made Mino washi. Six-colour gravure printing reproduced two earlier stamp designs. The sheet shows how a traditional paper family can be adapted to modern printing.
06
Regional skills and the heritage listing
- 2014: Sekishūbanshi, Honminoshi and Hosokawa-shi
- 2025: Echizen Torinokoshi, made with gampi, is added
Three kōzo-paper traditions in 2014
UNESCO’s 2014 inscription covered the skills of Sekishūbanshi in Shimane, Honminoshi in Gifu and Hosokawa-shi in Saitama. It recognised particular communities and techniques, rather than certifying every paper sold as washi.
Echizen Torinokoshi joined in 2025
In December 2025, the inscription was extended to include Echizen Torinokoshi. Made with gampi, this paper is known for its slightly yellow, lustrous surface. The name has medieval roots. Its addition means the current listing is wider than the three kōzo-paper traditions recognised in 2014.
What can you now explain?
Is washi made from rice?
No. Common traditional fibres include the inner bark of kōzo, mitsumata and gampi.
Does washi always mean handmade paper?
No. Machine-made papers can also be called washi.
What is neri used for?
It helps keep fibres dispersed and controls the water during sheet formation.
What holds the bamboo screen during forming?
A wooden papermaking frame.
What happens after a wet sheet is formed?
It is stacked, drained and pressed; in Honminoshi production it is then dried on a board in the sun.
Does the record for 610 prove Japan had no paper before then?
No. It records a transfer of knowledge, but the technique may have arrived earlier.
Why is ordinary washi not enough for a rain umbrella?
It needs suitable treatment, such as oiling, to resist rain.
Why is kōzo paper useful in conservation?
Its long fibres can make a thin, flexible sheet strong enough to reinforce a fragile document.
What changed in the UNESCO listing in December 2025?
Echizen Torinokoshi, made with gampi, was added to the three traditions inscribed in 2014.
What should you check when choosing a sheet?
Its fibres, manufacture, additives and suitability for the intended use—not just the word washi.