This video - the first in what will be an extended series - gives some background on the current washi (Japanese paper) situation at Mokuhankan, a woodblock print publisher in Tokyo, Japan.
We learn about how various types of washi were used in Japanese printmaking in the old days, how one particular type - hōsho - became the standard in the 20th century, and we visit the town where most of this paper is currently made.
00:00 Introduction
09:12 Inspecting some old prints
17:40 Into the 20th Century
26:40 The 'Here and Now'
40:22 Over to Echizen
44:23 Dave's conundrum
50:44 Udatsu Craft Museum ... and we meet Murata-san
01:03:52 Back at Mokuhankan
Links
The balloon bomb story:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu-Go_balloon_bomb
Udatsu Craft Museum:
https://www.echizenwashi.jp/english/information/udatsu.html
Mokuhankan
https://mokuhankan.com/index.html
Our Twitch Stream:
https://www.twitch.tv/japaneseprintmaking
Our Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/mokuhankan