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Literally paper for crafts. The fibers used are kozo, gampi and mitsumata. They are often dyed and coarse fibers are add. They are devoted to all sorts of uses.

Origin:

Japan

Local scripture:

民芸紙

Botanical name:

Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L’Hér. ex Vent.

Wikstroemia sikokiania Franc. & Sav.

Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl.

Language:

Korean

Local scripture:

두메 닥나무

Daphne pseudomezereum A. Gray © Flora of China

Daphne pseudomezereum A. Gray © L.B. Vilmont

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	5mm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases
Associated cells
Special features	Looks like gampi and mitsumata.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining	Grey-blue.

Botanical classification

Daphne pseudomezereum A. Gray

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Thymelaeaceae

Synonyms:

Daphne japonica Siebold & Zucc.

Plant growing area

China (Jilin, Liaoning), Japan, Korea.

It grows in forest at an altitude from 800 to 1600m.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

China:

Xizang (Tibet).

Plant cultivation and use

Daphnes are shrubs or sub-shrubs of the Thymelaceae family. Daphnes comprise from 50 to 95 species, according to the classifications. Some species grow in the plains, others in the mountains, in rockery; they appreciate calcareous soils. The plants are recognizable by their colorful flowers and toxic fruits.
There is a great confusion among the various Daphnes, Edgeworthias and especially Wikstroemias because their morphologies are very similar.

The etymology of daphne pseudomezereum comes on one hand, from the name of the nymph, daughter of Peneus, who pursued by Apollo, was transformed into a laurel tree to escape, and on the other hand from the Arabic word mezereum which means toxic.

Daphne pseudomezereum is a shrub, deciduous in summer, which can reach 1.5 m in height and prefers sunny areas. Flowers are pale green and flowering occurs in March to April. It is easy to propagate but its life does not exceed ten years.

The bark contains a large amount of hemicelluloses which makes it valuable in the manufacture of paper. Daphnes are the base plants for making paper at the foot of Himalayas.

China:

Daphne papers are considered as the best in Tibet where they are called dug-shog which means poison paper because of the repellent properties of the bark.

Japan:

The plant has been used in the manufacture of paper during the Nara period (710-794).

Paper names

In Asia and particularly in China, Korea and Japan, the papers are intended for a wide range of use: Papers for calligraphy and art, Papers for ceremonies, Paper as a medium of exchange, money paper, Papers for making clothes, wall hangings and bedding, Papers for architecture, interior design, Papers for crafts of various kinds, for domestic purposes and leisure. The names assigned to the paper refers to different notions: The material used, The place of production, The method of production, Appearance, Dimensions, Use, The name of an artist or a studio etc.

China:

Suffixes zhi or chih = paper.

In China, unlike Korea and Japan, papers made with paper mulberry fibers are not prominent, the production of paper from bamboo fiber being the most important.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

The term Kairyo hanshi or improved paper refers to paper made from mixed fibers pulp, often containing straw or wood pulp. It was also made with mitsumata fibers.

Origin:

Japan

Local scripture:

改良半紙

Synonym:

Kariryo hanshi

Botanical name:

Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L’Hér. ex Vent.

Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl.

Language:

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	3mm (2-4mm)
Average fibre width	12µm (4-20µm)
Fibre ends	Very variable.
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases	Faint surface markings. V or zigzag cross-markings under polarized light.
Associated cells	Many associated cells of various shapes (rectangular), often broken.
Special features	Quiet short fibers with broad central portions. Flater fibers than mitsumata; may be twisted.
Herzberg staining	Yellow/ Bluish Green.
Graff 'C' staining	Bright blue.

Botanical classification

Wikstroemia sikokiania Franc. & Sav.

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Thymelaeaceae

Synonyms:

Daphne sikokiana (Franch. & Sav.) Halda

Diplomorpha sikokiana (Franch. & Sav.) Nakai

Plant growing area

China, Korea, Japan.

Wikstroemia sikokiana grows in temperate climates, among the rocks on the mountain slopes between 1000 to 2800m (until 3500m), in the vicinity of sunny forest areas.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

China, Korea, Japan.

Japan:

Chubu (Fukui, Nagano, Ishikawa, Shizuoka prefectures ), Chugoku (Shimane, Tottori, Yamaguchi prefectures), Kansai (Hyogo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Shiga, Wakayama prefectures), Kanto (Saitama prefecture), Kyushu (Miyazaki, Saga prefecture), Okinawa, Shikoku (Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, Tokushima prefectures).

Plant cultivation and use

Wikstroemia sikokiana is a shrub of the Thymelaceae family, family, which includes nearly 500 species in 44 genera. There is a great confusion among the various Wikstroemias, Stelleras, Edgeworthias and especially Daphnes, because their morphologies are very similar.

Thymelaceaes are base plants for paper making in the Himalaya areas. The plants are valued for the large amount of hemicelluloses contained in the bark. They are also very much used in Chinese medicine.

Wikstroemia sikokiana is a deciduous shrub, growing slowly up to 2m. Blooming takes place between May and June. Its fruits are not edible and it has no known medicinal use.

The plant is often harvested in the wild because if it can be domesticated, it is with difficulty. It takes 5 to 7 years for the plant reaches a sufficient height (2m) to be harvested for its bark.

The sap is toxic and it is probably the reason why the paper is resistant to insects.

China:

There are 14 Wikstroemia species in Yunnan among which 6 are located in the northwest (W. delavayi, W. leptophylla, W. canescens, W. lichiangensis, W. scytophylla, W. lamatsoensis).

Japan:

Gampi fibers would be used since the Nara period (710-794). There is evidence that the papers are highly valued at the court during the Heian period (794-1185) for writing poems, and these papers were dyed or may be decorated.

The Torinoko (cf. this name) of the former province of Echizen (Fukui Prefecture) appears in the middle ages, and it owes its name "bird’s child" because of its eggshell color and its glossy surface. It is used for calligraphy as it is a shinny paper on which ink does not bleed.

From Muromachi period (1336-1573) to Edo period (1603-1867), gampi papers are used as support for paintings because they increase sharpness of gold leaf decorations, very popular in those times.

Gampi was used in large quantities during the Meiji period (1868-1912), for the production of duplicating papers (cf.Tosa gampishi) used with the mimeograph or alcohol duplicator.
Currently, as cultivation is difficult, harvesting of shrubs growing in the wild, still exists. Fiber demand exceeds production so a part of gampi is imported from the Philippines.

One hundred kilograms of harvested gampi gives three to five kilograms of paper.

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Harvesting takes place every three years from mid-March to late April when the sap is rising and makes the fibers bright and makes debarking easier.
The bark is peeled off immediately without steaming and hung to dry.

At this stage the bark is called "black bark". Alkaline cooking is done at this stage and lasts 2 to 3 hours. The alkaline agent is wood ashes lye or lime or caustic soda. Bleaching is sometimes made with chlorine.

After cooking, barks are placed in water for several days to remove cooking residues. It also allows achieving bleaching.

Beating is done manually or with a small hollander beater. Removing impurities is done manually or, more recently, with diaphragm flat screen because the fibers are relatively short. In this case the sorting is done after pulp beating.

Paper names

Japan:

Suffixes kami, gami, shi = paper.

In Japan kozo papers are the most numerous.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Wikstroemia retusa A. Gray © CFH Nature Museum

Identification

Fibre type
Average fibre lenght
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases
Associated cells
Special features
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining

Botanical classification

Wikstroemia retusa A. Gray

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Thymelaeaceae

Synonyms:

Daphne grayana Halda

Wikstroemia obavata Hemsl.

Plant growing area

Japan, Philippines,Taiwan.

Grows in forest thickets, deforested slopes, grasslands.

Use area in the manufacture of paper

Japan.

Plant cultivation and use

Wikstroemia canescens is a shrub of the Thymelaceae family, family, which includes nearly 500 species in 44 genera. There is a great confusion among the various Wikstroemias, Stelleras, Edgeworthias and especially Daphnes, because their morphologies are very similar.

Wikstroemia retusa is an evergreen shrub, 1 to 3m high.

China:

There are 14 wikstroemia species in Yunnan among which 6 are located in the northwest (delavayi, leptophylla, canescens, lichiangensis, scytophylla, lamatsoensis).

Japan:

It has been used since the Nara period (710-793).

Preparation process for making paper

Japan:

Harvesting takes place every three years from mid-March to late April when the sap is rising and makes the fibers bright and debarking easier.

The bark is peeled off immediately without steaming and hung to dry. At this stage the bark is called "black bark".

Alkaline cooking is done at this stage and lasts 2 to 3 hours. The alkaline agent is wood ashes lye or lime or caustic soda. Bleaching is sometimes made with chlorine. After cooking barks are placed in water for several days to remove cooking residues. It also allows achieving bleaching.

Beating is done manually or with a small hollander beater.

Removing hard impurities is done manually or, more recently, with diaphragm flat screen because the fibers are relatively short. In this case the sorting is done after pulp beating.

Paper names

The names assigned to the paper refers to different notions: The material used, The place of production, The method of production, Appearance, Dimensions, Use, The name of an artist or a studio etc.

Used part of the plant:

Bark

Use for paper making:

Fiber

Sekishu is a glossy fine quality paper; it is considered as very long-lasting and resistant to insect attack thanks to the use of "medecines" added to the dyes. It is used for writing documents and for printing. The colored papers are used in the manufacture of book-bindings, wallpapers and for lining fusumas.
In Ehime Prefecture kozo will be replaced by mitsumata during the Meiji period (1868-1912); it is called Kairyo hanshi ie improved paper.

Origin:

Japan

Local scripture:

石州

Synonym:

光沢のある半紙

Botanical name:

Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) L’Hér. ex Vent.

Literally bamboo paper for calligraphy. Mixture of bamboo and mitsumata fibers.

Origin:

Japan

Botanical name:

Edgeworthia chrysantha Lindl.

Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J. Houz.

Language:

Chinese

Local scripture:

东北瑞香

Identification

Fibre type	Bast fiber
Average fibre lenght	5mm
Average fibre width
Fibre ends
Striations, cross-markings, flexion creases
Associated cells
Special features	Looks like gampi and mitsumata.
Herzberg staining
Graff 'C' staining	Grey-blue.

Botanical classification