At the end of our first day, Joanna and I went to Osada-san and Oki-san’s mill.
First stop: Osada-san’s company is a long-running fusuma (sliding doors) paper manufacturer. However, due to the recent decrease in demand for fusuma papers, Osada-san has started working on creating new and innovative items using his papers, such as lamp shades, fans and bags.
The bag collection is particular seems to be a huge hit, and has been introduced in a major Japanese TV show. (I actually purchased one for my mother, as a late Mother’s Day gift…)
He is always trying new things and searching for new ways to preserve the washi industry.
Next, even if it was late in the afternoon, we were fortunate enough to see Oki-san, who makes our Mohachi papers.
Since the Mohachi series are made in the tamezuki method, Oki-san must mix the vat of fibers each time before production:
Common to all papermakers, Oki-san also does not rush his processes, and takes time to make the highest quality papers for customers all around the world.
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