Washi production and Nature : Water
About this blog series
“The message from traditional Japanese paper“
The relationship between making Japanese paper and water is very deep, it is used in almost every process, and for various purposes.
The first role of water is to penetrate and soften the raw material between bark and wood part. The first step after cutting the fiber plant is steaming of the branches as the second picture. Steaming firmly for about 2 to 3 hours will soften and separate the bark from inner wood part of the trees. The peeling cannot be done at all with dry plants because they are very strong.
“Washing” the raw materials with water is also an important task that comes up before and after boiling fiber. We can say that washing off plant components other than the fiber is a pulp making process itself. The process especially called “washing” is done after the boiling. The materials are washed well also to clean the slaked lime used when boiling.
After washing, put the materials in streaming water for about 48 hours and rinse off thoroughly. This process is called “exposure”, and has a purpose of washing away impurities and some times also causing natural bleaching by exposure to sunlight.
In addition, the function of floating and dispersing raw materials in water is also indispensable for making Japanese paper. Above all, in sheet forming. In fact, water alone does not completely disperse the fibers. The natural formation agent needs to be added and mix thoroughly before scooping.
Removing impurities and debris from the material is a work that cannot be perfectly done unless the material is floating in the water. In winter it is a hard job with bare hands in the cold water long period.