The creation of our new offering of original cards started from making Japanese paper.
We have learnt a lot of things about raw materials for Japanese paper, production methods and current practices of Japanese paper making through the communication with craftspeople whom we work with. Naturally, this experience gave us the opportunity to reconsider the interactions between the global environment and human beings.
Our new original cards are made from all Japanese Kouzo.
Kouzo is a deciduous shrub of the Moraceae family, and its bark is used in Japanese paper making.
As the trees grow rapidly we can harvest them annually, and they are relatively environmentally friendly raw materials. Unfortunately, Japanese Kouzo is now facing a decrease in production sites and people who work for them.
The current situation is that domestic raw materials for Japanese paper cost more than those imported, and more than a few Japanese paper makers rely on imported materials from overseas. Besides, this situation accelerates some problems: the decline of production sites for Kouzo and the lack of labor successors.
On the other hand, relying on imported materials means Japan consumes overseas resources, which requires a lot of energy for transportation.Considering these situations, we would like to use Japanese paper made from domestic Kouzo as much as possible.
We let paper making craftspeople know some important points, like the expression of ink, and texture as an artist, and asked them to make some samples by adjusting the portion of raw materials and thickness. As a result from several trials, we thankfully decided to use Japanese paper made from all Japanese Kouzo as the lines in printings appeared best. This is a paper that conveys natural color of the plant, solid thickness, and the warmth of fibers.
As for packaging, we would like to “offer relatively affordable prices for everyday life”, and create original packaging made from Tottori handmade Japanese paper (30% Kouzo, 70% pulp and other). There are various processes in making Japanese paper (Please refer to the below comments and pictures from the craftspeople), as it is time consuming work it costs more than mass produced paper.
However, we believe that “there are benefits because people take plenty of time to create it with the help of nature”. We hope viewing this page will offer an opportunity to learn more about Japanese paper.