Washi Making in Yusuhara!

In September I had a few days vacation so I wanted to treat myself to some kind of traditional craft workshop. There are so many traditional crafts in Japan that are basically dieing out because most young people aren't interested in the lifestyle of an artisan/craftsman. I honestly don't blame them. These art forms consume your life and so much of the production depends on season, temperature, plants etc. Japanese traditional art forms are insanely detailed in process because you're always aiming for the unattainable goal of perfection. Although I don't have the self-discipline or passion for a specific medium to live this way I really respect the people who dedicate their lives to continuing and teaching these beautiful traditions.

I found out about Kamikoya through searching on the internet for "art, workshop, Shikoku". I was so excited when I saw they taught workshops in washi making (washi-Japanese paper). I of course write on washi all the time for my shodo so it was a great opportunity for me. So, Sept. 20-22 I traveled to Yusuhara (about 2 hours west) to take a 2 day workshop in washi making. The artist/sensei, Rogier, came to Japan about 30 years ago from Holland and started studying the traditional washi techniques of Shikoku. He was a book maker/binder back in The Netherlands so that's where his interest in paper came from. The people in Ino (a town famous for washi about 45min. from Kochi) and surrounding villages were eager to teach him and pass on their knowledge of washi. He and his wife have a school and a studio on a mountain in Yusuhara where he grows his own food and all the materials he needs for his washi. His neighbors in this village are probably 60 and older and come from families who've been making washi for generations so they assist him in the process. A really amazing experience for me!!
left to right: The food there was amazing! I highly recommend going there just for dinner. On the left is a beautiful pizza I had my first day with half tofu, little tiny fish, herbs and cheese and half pizza margarita. They make the crust there too and everything is organic when possible! Rogier's wife, Chika always put fresh mint in the water :) Next is a breakfast with a prosciutto topped salad, egg, yogurt, fruit and homemade preserves for the bread. yummmmm!! 3rd is the beautiful view from my window in the guesthouse. I wish I could wake up to this every morning.

The Washi Making Process (as best as can be demonstrated to someone in 2 days. the whole process really takes weeks or maybe months)
1. view of the studio, many traditional wooden tools. 2.beating the tororo root. it excretes this gooey juice that is added to the paper pulp to help evenly distribute the fibers. i'm wearing a mask not because it's harmful to breath but because i'm getting over the flu, and in Japan if you're sick you have to wear a mask... 3. pulling apart the mitsumata and kozo fibers which the paper is made from. these fiber must be soaked in freezing cold water for a very long time to soften them and get rid of starch.

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beating the tororo root. it excretes this gooey juice that is added to the paper pulp to help evenly distribute the fibers. i'm wearing a mask not because it's harmful to breath but because i'm getting over the flu.

beating the mitsumata and kozo to break down the fibers into little pieces which will make the pulp

1. the beautiful paper pulp. the mitsumata fibers have a warm shimmery color, so the pulp was really pretty :) 2. vigorously stirring the pulp to further evenly distribute and break down the fibers

making the paper with a bamboo screen that lets the water drain through but of course keeps the paper fibers on top. this is a lot harder than it looks because the paper must be completely even and all the fiber must lie flat. the screen is repeatedly dipped until the paper is the desired thickness. 3rd the paper is layered on top of one another (it won't dry together if done correctly) on a piece of felt and will later be put in a huge press to squeeze out the water.
2. applying some flower petals for a decorative paper. 3. the paper press
2,3. a different technique where the paper pulp us hand poured over piece of burlap and just left to dry. i did a circular pattern using a cardboard ring and some natural clays. 4. pressing
pulling apart the plain white washi after pressing that was just separated by a piece of string. so beautiful...
1. little demo of how you have to scrape all the brown bark off the mitsumata before soaking the fiber to release the starch. the goal is pure white paper. 2,3. the paper has to be stuck to a wooden board to dry outside in the sun. this makes the paper very smooth on one side and prevents is from warping.

-neighbor farming the tororo root which is used for the slimy goo which is the key ingredient to making and even paper pulp. the flowers are edible, i had one on a salad.

1. Rogier peeling the bark off a kozo plant. 2. flax used to make linen. 3. cute couple having a short workshop the as me day as me. next to them is the papryus which was used to make the first paper by the Egyptians. 4. me and the papryus
-kozo plant

1. mitsumat plant 2. neighbor and Rogier in tororo field 3. simple paper lantern made from his washi

1. the water in the nearby forest is super clean and safe to drink. 2. Rogier uses it to soak his paper fibers in the huge bath below.
-such a beautiful place...

1. my finished work drying! 2. Rogier, Chika and me

Indigo Dyeing in Tokushima

Wow, I'm so behind on my blogging that this entry is about something I did in June. terrible... So I've been interested in indigo dyeing since I first was an exchange student in Japan more than 4 years ago. At that time when I studied kasuri I used a product called "Indigo Pure" which apparently is easier to work with than natural indigo dye. Junko found and opportunity for us to try aizome (indigo dyeing) in Tokushima so I was very excited to learn about this process!

Unfortunately I don't have the name of the place on hand now but large quantities of the plant that indigo is derived from was grown near here and then harvested and fermented to get the dye. The sculpture above is to commemorate this in the yard between the old house and the studio. I guess this place is famous since the current emperor went there with his family to try out indigo dyeing.

Junko and I went with another classmate and friend, Mayumi.

These are samples of dyeing that were in the studio. The first of a rabbit print. This is done by screening a dye-resist paste on the fabric in the areas you wish to remain white, before dyeing. Next is resist dye shodo (Japanese calligraphy) that are used as sort of mini curtains that are in many doorways in Japan. Third is a sample of the gradient you can get by exposing the fabric to the ink at 2-minute intervals.

This is the dye bath! It was really beautiful! You know the indigo is ready when the bath create the bubble mass shown above, called the indigo "flower".

This is our lovely work! We all did shibori (best described as "tie-dyeing) since we weren't allowed to do the paste resist that day. I haven't really used mine for anything but Junko dyed a lot of yardage so she had it made into a dress.

Me (sweltering in the horrible Shikoku summer heat) and Mayumi looking quite comfortable. Really cute couple of families doing indigo together. If I had kids I'd want to do this with them...

There was a really old home next to the studio. I don't really understand who used to live there but I'll check on it later... I loved the combination of wallpapers and the beautiful lighting through the paper screens

More from the home...

The End...

花火!!! (hanabi)

The word for fireworks in Japanese is hanabi. "Hana" meaning flower and "bi" meaning fire, so flower fire! I love that! In August there is a fireworks show somewhere in Kochi prefecture like twice a week and they are awesome! This was the show in Kochi City over the Kagami River on Aug. 13 to celebrate the Yosakoi dance festival. The photos from my new camera turned out well i think :)

Summer is ending... sort of

I'm on my break now and I went to the shrine near my house to collect some plants. I'm collecting all kinds of plants to press and bring to my washi (japanese paper) making workshop at the end of this month. Hopefully I can make some interesting patterns with the plants to embed in the paper! I love going to temples and shrines. I don't even believe in God but I feel at peace there and like something is protecting me. There was a little homeless cat there, he was laying down behind the wooden entryway, it was almost like he was supposed to be there. He had a lot of scabs and patchy fur. I sat with him for a minute and he really wanted to cuddle but I was afraid to get fleas from him or something so I moved on. The shinto priest was sweaping the leaves off of all the pebbles on the ground with a very traditional handmade broom. The preists wear light turqoise pants and a white top (which looks the same as a karate top) and tabe shoes. I wish I was a better writer so I could really describe what everything looks like and how it felt to be there but I can't...

When I was leaving I saw two kittens!! I played with them and scratched their bellies, then a really old woman with dimentia came over with her walker to watch me. She was giggling as I played with them and I asked her questions but she couldn't talk so she just responded with gestures. She watched and giggled for a while then she noticed the tattoo on my forearm. She began gesturing at her arm and came over to look at my tattoo. Her face became really serious and I was worried she was afraid or would get angry at me. Elderly people here don't like tattoos because until recently they've always been associated with the Japanese mafia. She came and touched one of the Japanese maple leaves tattooed on my arm and began pointing down the street. I thought maybe she was afraid and telling me to leave but I think maybe she was telling me there's a Japanese maple tree down the street. So, I got up and left because I didn't want to upset her, but she continued to look at the kittens and giggle and look at me. It was kind of nice:)

Yasu Bike Trail

During Song gi's last visit we rented bicycles from one of my students and rode on the Yasu bike trail. Yasu is about 20 minutes from downtown Kochi. The trail is along the ocean and we rode to Aki town (about a 30 min. ride). There's an awesome cafe on a cliff in Aki called Rock Green Cafe. It has a beautiful view overlooking the ocean, they play great music and the owner is this super chill hippy guy.

I just had to go swimming on the way back. You're not supposed to swim in this area this time of year but I couldn't resist. It turns out there's a reason why you shouldn't swim, the waves are way too strong, so swimming was impossible. Japanese people almost never swim in the ocean.


There's a lot of shacks and all kinds of abandoned piles of old applicances, cars, mattresses etc. along the trail. It looks tropical, I felt like I was in Vietnam or something, not Japan.
I found this rock.

Here's a really old abandoned boat, I thought it looked really romantic. A lot of old men sit right on the shore and fish.
It was a beautiful day...

Hokkaido, April 30-May 5

So we went to Kushiro, Hokkaido during Golden Week but I'm just now posting photos. There was no one there, the landscape reminded me of northern Michigan. It was relaxing and great just to spend some time away with SG. The winter in Hokkaido is really long so when we went all the snow had just melted and most plants were still dead and brown. We stayed in the huge marshland in Kushiro.
Great fresh fish in Hokkaido. We stayed in a little cabin on a lake and cooked on the grill at night and ate pasta or whatever we had for breakfast.
the marsh...
We saw one wild Japanese crane while there. Song gi spotted it when we were driving back from a day trip to Lake Akan. We pulled over and were lucky to be able to take some photos. It's rare to see cranes this time of year because they are deep in the marshlands nesting. This one was eating in a field in Tsurui (meaning crane) Village. In the winter time the cranes depend on the people of Tsurui for food. The villagers throw corn into the fields and large groups of cranes come feed. The cranes are really important to the people of this village. Even after WWII when everyone was poor and hungry they still gave their food to the cranes.

The tsuru (Japanese cranes) are huge with a wing span of about 6 feet. They were heavily hunted during the Edo period and almost became extinct but now they are a protected species and are coming back. They are to Japan what the bald eagle is to us.

Lots of cows in Hokkaido. There's a real Western influence in Hokkaido, a lot of missionaries came there after the Edo period. Dairy and beef were not a traditional part of the Japanese diet. The climate is similar to the midwest and central Europe so it's condisive to dairy farming.
These scenes really reminded me of Michigan. The sign in front of the house above reads something like "Christ will return and you will be judged" so Judgment Day is coming... I have never seen anything like this in Japan.
We drove up to Akan, famous for "marimo" these green, perfectly round balls of algae pictured in the tank above. They naturally occur in Akan Lake and I guess this is the only place in the world you can find them.

The Ainu are the native people of Hokkaido. The Japanese made efforts to strip them of their culture and took their land the same way the American settlers did to the Native Americans. In Akan there is a touristy little "Ainu Village" where you can see shops with their original embroidery and woodworking. I really wanted to go there but when arriving it was clearly a tourist attraction like Mackinac Island. But I got to see some embroidery so I was happy...
the village entrance
It was a great trip and I saw a whole different area and culture of Japan. The best part was just being away from people and being with Song gi :)

Sakura!! (cherry blossoms)

I took these photos about a month ago outside Kochi Castle when the sakura were in full bloom. It's a really important time of year here and people have "hanami", which are like picnics under the sakura and another excuse to get drunk.

Now all the petals have fallen but there is always a new fruit or flower to look forward to every month of the year. I love that seasonal plants are celebrated here and integrated into the holidays and traditions.

Everyday these old men sit outside the castle and play a Japanese version of chess, I love to watch them.