Mino Paper Fifty Years of a Craftsman's Life The Shosoin Imperial Repository (containing the collection of Emperor Shomu, 8th century) contains a record dating paper made at Mino to the year 702. This record is Japan's oldest register of residence and is written on Mino paper. Over a period of 1,300 years, Mino paper has earned a reputation of being thin, strong, and beautiful--in short, paper of the highest quality. We interviewed Mr Hidekazu Ishihara, a papermaker of fifty years' experience, whose family has been making paper for many generations. The persistent call of papermaking Mr Ishihara scooping paper "I really wanted to be a school teacher." After graduating from middle school, Mr Ishihara had to help in the family's papermaking workshop due to the illness of his mother and was unable to attend high school. This was his start as a papermaker. As an exponent of Mino paper's reputation as being thin, strong, and beautiful, Mr Ishihara is a master craftsman known for making a particular thin type of paper. However, his career as a papermaker was not a straight path. After he was 20, he tried his hand at paper merchandising and moved to Tokyo; however, with the illness of his grandfather, he returned to Mino. In his thirties (1960s), he quit papermaking and prepared to work in a plastics factory. However, he was strongly urged to continue papermaking by a partner responsible for paper merchandising. "I lost my direction many times. Only recently have I felt confidence in my choice of work. And even when I attempted other work, something unforeseen happened and papermaking called me back. I sometimes think that paper itself loves me." 1950s--Insatiable demand for paper The secret of making thin paper--short scooping and moving the screen in both directions (left-right and front-back). Mr Ishihara lives in a house that has been the home to many generations of papermakers, located in Kamino, a short distance into the mountains from Itadori River, a tributary of the Nagara River. The Itadori River area has excellent and pure water, and the materials for papermaking are plentiful. In times past, in the winter slack season, farmers made paper in this area. When Mr Ishihara started making paper at age 15, the neighbors were all papermakers. That the son of a papermaking family should make paper was a natural event at that time. Many of his friends also became papermakers. The villagers started work every day at 4:00 A.M. They could sell every sheet made; Mr Ishihara's income was better than an office worker's at that time. Where are the runners in front? A stack of newly laid paper The village paper production groups decided to specialize in shoji paper, very thin paper, and other types. In the village of Kamino, the production of thin paper predominated. Mr Ishihara himself made extremely thin paper, which was used to make the famous Gifu lanterns and also for the dyeing stencils made in Ise, which are used in yuzen dyeing. Mr Ishihara was asked to make the special paper (hakuaishi) used in making the gold leaf of Kanazawa, which is used as interleaving so the impossibly thin gold sheets remain separate. "This is very difficult paper. I will do my best to follow the standards of my seniors in papermaking," Mr Ishihara said. "What are you saying?" responded the customer. "You already can't see the back of the runner in front of you." Mr Ishihara interpreted this as a criticism, that he could not see what went before. But the customer responded that Mr Ishihara, who was then in his mid forties, could not only be ranked alongside his seniors in papermaking but surpassed them in skill. "This made me extreme happy. Thinking carefully about what the customer requested, I felt that indeed my skills might be up to the challenge of making the paper ordered and satisfying his needs." Handmade paper no longer needed Mr Ishihara's paper. Ten sheets are layered to make an Ise dyeing stencil. We asked Mr Ishihara if he felt that making paper was interesting work. He responded that it was neither interesting nor uninteresting, "It is work, and I never thought about it in other terms. On the other hand, if you ask about difficulties, if we cannot sell our paper and papermakers quit the craft--that is truly difficult." The dual influences of an affluent economy and the development of automation resulted in a dramatic decrease in the demand for handmade paper. In its most active period, Mr Ishihara's workshop produced 20,000 sheets of paper per month; today it is 2,000 sheets. Before, entire village in this area made paper; today, in three villages (Kamino, Warabi, Katachi), there are only 20 papermaking workshops. And papermakers are all elderly. Paper is just a material But, on the happy side, today young people interested in making paper are not few. Today among the young people who want to learn papermaking, ten have come from other areas. "And I advise these young people not to set their sights on becoming artists. Paper is just a material, not an artwork. There is no single definition for 'good paper.' There is good stencil paper, good shoji paper. The qualities of a paper depend on its use. If a customer says that a paper is excellent for his/her uses, then that is an excellent paper." However, today Japan's handmade paper is used not so much for its own qualities as for a hobbyist's material to make collages and the like and as an adjunct to interior design. At one time, when handmade paper production was at its height, such paper was one of the country's industries. Today it is very different. What is the future of this craft? The thirteen hundred years of history is now the theme borne by the new generation of papermakers. Profile Hidekazu Ishihara Born 1935. Started helping with the family papermaking after graduation from middle school; 50 years have passed since then. Known for his excellent thin paper. Now a director of the cooperative union, he makes efforts to support the new generation of paper craftspeople. Mr Hidekazu Ishihara, a dedicated fan of the Chunichi Dragons baseball team.