Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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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

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Update:
Episode Two of this series:
youtube.com/watch?v=IsLigsmxzTQ
Episode Three:
youtube.com/watch?v=nrIFpx0r5lA

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Links

The balloon bomb story:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu-Go_balloon_bomb

Udatsu Craft Museum:
echizenwashi.jp/english/information/udatsu.html

Mokuhankan
mokuhankan.com/index.html

Our Twitch Stream:
twitch.tv/japaneseprintmaking

Our Patreon:
patreon.com/mokuhankan