Awa on Shikoku
the bridge to Awaji
cooked but not cleaned, inner bark of paper mulberry: kozo
cleaning the fiber
the specialty paper area
marbles to hold the paper
how ;to beat kozo
start with a piece the size of your fist
beat it!
John helped
everyone helped!
the whole family works together
demonstration
the master shows us how
Catherine catches on right away
April struggles all morning
help
more help
walking home to the onsen
clear mountain water, perfect for papermaking
Susan’s first visit to Japan
Japanese brekfast at the onsen included fish and a raw egg
Japanese breakfast was included
the Washi Museum had wi-fi
cleaned and beaten kozo fiber
cleaned, beaten and bleached kozo
cleaned kozo fiber
the expert shows us how
stirring fiber into the water
the su, made of thin slivers of bamboo
pressing a new sheet of paper onto the stack
no blankets
lifting the su from the wet paper
lifting the su off the stack
didn’t work, put the fiber back in the boat and stir it up again
patient help
the fiber must be evenly distributed
a sheet that didn’t work out, to be stirred back into the water
Susan having fun
a welcome break of green tea
making big sheets of gampi
gampi does not bond laterally as strongly as kozo does
it is more difficult to make
the professionals at work
it looks easy
Catherine is strong, and had no trouble
over the head so no water drips on the paper
pressing down the new sheet
lifting the su
stirring the water
paper-to-be
Shizu went to college in New York, and is an able translator
pressing water out of the newly made paper
the art gallery
wet sheets are separated with ribbons
not all the sheets worked out so well
wet paper is tender, stretchy
the young women moved the heavy drying boards
brushing down the wet paper
brushing on a heated metal surface for quick drying
a washi kite overhead
ancestor papermaker
making paper
drying the kozo bark fiber
Shizu doesn’t understand why we are so astonished.
inspecting the finished paper
explaining the system for sizing
double boiing nikawa and myoban
sizing with a dosa bake
hanging sized papers
time for Catherine and Susan to return home
kozo grows wild
it rains a lot
we walked back to the onsen, over the bridge
The train to Tokushima takes half an hour, then Kyoto is another hour by bus