Washi - Japanese Paper

Washi is traditional Japanese paper generally made from the inner barks of kozo, mitsumata, and gampi. Kozo is the most commonly used plant in producing washi. The process is quite complicated. The branches of the plant are boiled, stripped, then dried. That is then boiled with Lye, or sodium hydroxide to remove any impurities on the fiber like fat and starch. These fibers are then bleached and beaten so the fibers can be spread out onto a screen to spread evenly. During this process, the thickness of the washi is determined by the thickness of the washi pulp on the screen. Washi was recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Object in 2014.