Traditional craft
Ozu Washi
大洲和紙
Handmade paper from Uchiko and Seiyo in Ehime, celebrated for calligraphy and used for shoji, kites and torn-paper art.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 14 October 1977
- Type
- Washi paper
- Region
- Shikoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 大洲和紙
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 西予市、喜多郡内子町
Warm, hand-made sheets
Every sheet of Ozu Washi is made by hand, and it carries a warmth and human touch that machine paper lacks. It is celebrated as some of Japan's finest calligraphy paper and is also used for shoji and kites. Newer uses include chigiri-e, pictures made of torn paper. It is made in Seiyo and Uchiko in Ehime.
Traditional steps
- Kozo, mitsumata, gampi, hemp or straw are steamed.
- The cooked fibre is beaten fine.
- Sheets are formed by nagashi-zuki.
- They are dried, all by traditional methods.
A monk as paper master
Iyo paper appears in the Heian-period Engishiki, among the 40-odd provinces that sent paper to the court. In the mid-Edo period a monk named Zennoshin came to teach papermaking as master to the Ozu domain, and paper became a domain industry. With the domain's protection its quality won high regard, and many families still carry on the work.
Good to know
- Try chigiri-e: tearing and layering washi into pictures is easy to start.
- Calligraphy students will want Ozu paper.
Questions travellers ask
What is Ozu Washi best known for?
Calligraphy paper, along with shoji and kite paper.
What is chigiri-e?
Pictures made by tearing and layering pieces of washi.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.