Paper in Japan, China and Korea

Papermaking in China was invented around 150 BC, and was introduced to Japan through Korea. In Nara-period Japan, when sutra-copying was promoted as a national project and administrative systems were established, the demand for paper and methods of papermaking spread across the country. The earliest paper was hemp paper, made from ramie fibers and scraps of hemp cloth. Hemp, however, was a time-consuming material to process, and to make hemp paper suitable for writing, it needed to be flattened by beating and polished on the surface. Gradually, mulberry paper became common, which could be processed more efficiently, allowing for mass-production.

Dyed paper was mostly yellow in its initial phase for the purpose of preventing insect damage. However, methods of dyeing such as sukizome (adding pigments at the time of production), hitashizome (soaking paper in liquid dye), hikizome (applying dyes with wide brushes), and fukizome (spray-dyeing) developed, and decorative paper was made by joining colored papers together. In the Heian period, the nobility sought elegant and delicately designed paper to suit waka poems and courtly tales, and thus many types of paper were imported from China and Korea. The 11th and 12th centuries were when the use of decorative writing paper reached its peak. Paper from China with prints of sumptuous designs, known as karakami, were highly prized, while domestic paper made in imitation of this style also appeared. Ornately decorative books were also produced using different types of colored paper, some of which were recycled.

Looking closely at the paper from Japan, China and Korea with scientific devices such as microscopes and special light enables us to see the differences between each type of paper. This exhibit features paper from these three origins according to type, characteristics, and production method.