Last weekend Mutsumi and I went to the Awagami Factory to participate in the ‘winter mitsumata harvesting and paper making workshop’. The weekend long event only happens once a year. After hearing good reviews, we made sure we got our places reserved ASAP.  People from all over Japan and even the world, come to partake in this traditional process with the Awagami Factory.  It is a family run company, that within artistic circles produces the ‘Dom Perignon’ of artists’ papers.

Mitsumata is a member of the Daphne family. Its characteristic branches grow in sets of three. At this time of year the plant has lemon yellow flowers.  Its strong fibres contain a natural insect repellent and it is still used to this day to produce Japanese currency. Unfortunately, mitsumata isn’t really easy to grow. During the course of the year many of the Awagami Factory’s mitsumata plants had died.  This left us to predominantly harvest another plant, kozo, a member of the mulberry family.

The branches are bundled and steamed for about an hour and a half in a special stainless steel box. After steaming the branches, we engaged in a friendly tug of war to strip off the bark. This is fun and extremely satisfying as the entire bark comes off in one skin rather like a hide of an animal. This leaves the beautiful clean naked branches, irresistible to flower arranging enthusiasts or artists with a hoarding instinct.   The bark is in two layers. We needed to separate the good inner fibres from the dark coloured outer layer by pulling the bark branch by branch through a wood and metal pinching device.  Not so satisfying and very labour intensive

Back at the Awagami Factory the cleaned inner bark is loaded into a big boiling pot with what I have researched to be lye, a corrosive alkaline to remove unwanted substances. The cauldron simmers and we finish the first day of our workshop.

The next morning we arrived bright and early to the scene of overnight transformation. Our cauldron of cream inner bark had been transformed into baskets of rich yellow pulp. Paper making begins.

Take the mitsumita pulp and blend it into the water in the blue bath until the water is loaded with fibres, then add glue until it has the viscosity of maple syrup. Then you are ready to go. Quickly plunge the mesh tray into the water vertically, bring it towards you and level up, keep it moving allowing the water to flow off each side. Move your body with the motion of the tray, like a dance? Sensei you can’t be serious!!!! Repeat the process and hope it doesn’t peel off in an uneven skin. Then take your paper over to the drying area where a vacuum table sucks most of the water out of it. For the final dry, you place it on a hot metal table.

OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now what should I draw on it?

http://www.awagami.or.jp/en/workshop.html