Japan paper. Paper is made in Japan from the bark of morus papifera sativa , or the true paper tree, in the following manner (according to Kaempfer, to whom we owe this knowledge). [1]

Every year, when the leaves have fallen in the tenth month of the Japanese calendar, which corresponds to our month of December, young shoots, which are very succulent, are cut off into sticks approximately three feet in length, and then joined together into a bundle that is boiled with water and ashes. If they have dried before they have been boiled, they must soak for twenty-four hours together in water, and are then boiled. These bundles, or faggots, are bound tightly together and then placed upright in a large kettle, which must be well covered. They are then boiled until the bark shrinks so as to expose half an inch of naked wood at the end. When all the sticks have been sufficiently boiled, they are taken out of the water and exposed to air until they have cooled. Then they are split lengthwise to pull off the bark, while the wood is considered useless and discarded.

The dried bark is the material that is then used to make the paper and undergoes an additional preparation that consists of washing and sorting the good material from the bad. This is achieved by soaking it in water for three or four hours; having softened, the blackish skin is then scraped off together with the green surface. This is done with a knife they call kaadsi kusaggi , meaning a kaadsi razor , which takes its from the tree; at this point, the stronger bark that is produced after a full year’s growth is separated from the thinner bark that covered the young branches. The first of these produces the best and whitest paper , the latter produces a blackish paper of mediocre quality. If there is any bark that has been aged for over a year mixed with the rest, it is pulled out and set aside, as it makes for a coarse paper of lower quality. Anything that is coarse, has knots, defects, or is discolored, is picked out at the same time to be kept aside with other coarse material.

After the bark has been sufficiently cleaned, prepared, and sorted according to various degrees of quality, it must be boiled in clear lye. From the moment it begins to boil and during the entire time it is placed on the fire, it is stirred constantly with a large reed and covered from time to time with fresh lye in order to combat the effects of evaporation, making up for the water that is lost during the process. Boiling must continue until the material becomes so tender that, when touched lightly with your finger, it dissolves and falls apart like flock or fibers. The lye is made from any type of ash in the following way: two pieces of wood are laid across over a cistern and covered with straw, on which wet ashes are placed, boiling water is then poured over it, which, as it passes through the straw and falls into the cistern below, absorbs the saline particulates of the ashes, producing what is referred to as lye .

After the bark has boiled in the manner just described, it is washed, which is of no small consequence in paper-making and must be handled with great care and attention. If it has not been washed long enough, the paper will be strong and have body, but will be coarse and of little value. If, on the other hand, it is washed too long, a whiter paper will be produced, but it will be more prone to absorption and thus less suited to writing. Now this part of paper-making must be managed with great care and good judgment so as to keep to a middle range and avoid these two extremes that we have just described. Washing occurs in the river, where the bark is put within a kind of sieve or screen through which water flows, then stirred continuously using the hands and arms until it has diluted to the consistency of wool or a soft pulp. It is washed once again in order to produce the finest sort of paper . However, at this point the bark is passed through a piece of linen, instead of a sieve, because the more it is washed, the more the bark breaks down, finally being reduced to pieces so small that they could pass through the holes in the sieve and disappear. At this point care is taken to remove knots or flock and any other heterogeneous pieces that are coarse and useless. These pieces are then put aside along with the coarser bark for lower quality paper. Once the bark is sufficiently and thoroughly washed, it is placed on a smooth, thick, wooden table to be beaten with sticks made of the hardwood kusnoki , which is usually done by two or three people, until it has been made fine enough. At this point, the bark will now appear to have broken down so much that it will resemble paper that has been soaked in water and reduced to a kind of porridge, no longer possessing a unified consistency.

The bark is prepared and placed in a narrow cistern with a fatty, gluey infusion of rice and oreni root, which is also very slimy and unctuous. These three things must be put together and stirred with a thin, clean reed until well mixed, forming a liquid substance of uniform consistency. This is best done in a narrow cistern, but then this mixture is placed into a larger vessel, which is not unlike those we use in our own paper mills. One by one, the pages are taken out of the cistern, on molds that are made of reeds, rather than brass wire, and which are called miis .

All that remains is to let them dry accordingly. For this, one puts the pages in piles on a table that is covered with a double mat, and, using a small piece of reed, which they call kamakura , a cushion is created that is set between each sheet; this device is then used to lift the leaves, pulling them apart, one by one. Every heap is covered with a plank or a thin board the size and shape of the paper , on which you place lighter weights in the beginning, lest the pages that are still fresh and wet should adhere to one another and form a solid mass. One adds more weight to the board incrementally, putting heavier weights on in order to press and express out all of the water. The next day, the weight is lifted. The pages are then removed one by one with the little kamakura reed, which was just mentioned, and, using the palm of the hand, placed on long boards and planers, made expressly for this purpose, where the leaves are supported easily, and where any moisture that has remained after the preparation can dry by being exposed to the sun. Once they are entirely dry, one places them in piles, where they are pared on all sides and kept for use or for sale.

I noticed that the infusion of rice, using gentle friction, is necessary in this process, because of its white color and the viscosity it imparts, which helps create a pleasingly white paper of good consistency. The simple infusion of rice-flour will not have the same effect, because it lacks the stickiness that is essential for high-quality paper. This infusion begins in an unglazed, earthenware pot, where the rice grains are soaked in water. Then the pot is stirred gently at first, followed by greater degrees of agitation. In the end, this is covered with cold water and filtered through linen. The remainder must undergo the same process, with fresh water added, and this repeated until all the viscosity has been rendered from the rice. Japanese rice is the best for this, as it is the whitest and most viscous rice that grows in Asia.

One infuses the oreni root into the mixture in the following manner: the root is crushed or diced and placed in fresh water. It will become slimy overnight and fit for use after it has been passed through a piece of linen. Different seasons require that different amounts of water be mixed with the root. They say that the entire art depends on this. In the summer when the heat dissolves this binder and makes it more fluid, more is needed, and less in proportion during the cold winter when temperatures are low. Too much of this infusion mixed with the other ingredients will render the paper too thin, while too little will render it too thick and unevenly dry. A medium amount of this root is needed to make a paper of good quality with an even consistency. By simply lifting a few sheets, one can easily see whether they have added too much or too little. Instead of oreni root, which sometimes, especially at the beginning of the summer, is very rare, papermakers use a creeping shrub, named sane kadsura whose leaves make jelly or glue, similar to the oreni root, but it is not a perfect substitute.

It has been noted that when the sheets of paper are freshly removed from their molds, they are placed in heaps on a table covered with two mats. These two mats must be of differing fabric, the lowermost being coarser, while the uppermost is thinner, positioned using thin, slender, bull-rushes, which must not be twisted too close to one another, so as to let the water run through with ease, and arranged so as not to leave any impressions on the paper . The coarser sort of paper , used for wrapping up goods, is made from the bark of the kadse kadsura shrub with the same method as described above. This Japanese paper is strong and tight and can withstand being twisted into ropes. A kind of very thick paper is sold to Syriga (one of the greatest towns in Japan and the capital of the province of that name). This paper is painted very neatly and folded in such large sheets that one could use it to make clothes, as it looks so similar to wool or silk.

To offer a complete history of Japan paper production, Kaempfer attaches the following description of the four trees and plants that are used.

1. The paper tree, in Japanese known as kaadsi , is the principal plant. Kaempfer characterizes it as follows: Papyrus fructu mori celsa, sive morus sativa foliis urticae mortuae, cortice papifera .

Possessing a strong root and woody branches that issue from a straight trunk, which is thick and true, the tree is covered with a bark of chestnut color. It is large inside, where the wood is soft and brittle, and full of wet pith. The branches and the offshoots are very large, covered with a downy layer of wooly green, which is almost comes close to a purple brown. They are split to expose the pith and dried once they have been cut. The offshoots are surrounded irregularly with leaves approximately five or six inches apart from each other, sometimes more. They have thin and hairy pedicels of about two inches in length, about the size of a straw, and of a similar brownish purple hue. The leaves differ significantly in shape and size and are sometimes divided into three or five serrated lobes resembling a saw; these narrow lobes are of unequal depth and are unequally divided. In essence, these leaves resemble in size and shape, those of the urtica mortua, as they are flat, thin, a little rugged, dark green on one side, and a greenish white on the other. They dry quickly once they are removed, as do all other parts of the tree. A single vein produces a large groove on one side, extending from the base of the leaf to the tip, where several small, parallel veins grow toward the edge of the leaf and begin to curve back on themselves. The fruits emerge in June and July, near the leaves that grow on the end of the offshoots. They emanate from the round branches and are about the size of a pea or a little more, encased in purple dots. They are composed of seeds that are greenish at first and then turn brown purple when mature. The fruit is full of a sweetish juice. I have not observed whether or not these fruits are preceded by flowers.

This tree is grown on hills and mountains and is used for producing paper . The young offshoots are approximately two feet long and are cut and planted at a medium depth around the tenth month. They first take the end of the root that is drying above ground and from it grow several young ones that can be cut at the end of the year, when they have reached the length of about a fathom and a half, or the width of the arm-span of a medium-sized man. There is also a kind of kaadsi , or wild paper tree, which grows on uncultivated and uninhabited mountains, but, as it is rare, it is not fit to make paper , which is why it is never used.

2. The fake paper tree that the Japanese call katsi kadsira is described by Kaempfer in Latin as: papyrus procumbens lactescens, folio longo lanceato, cortice chartaceo .

This shrub has a thick root, which is singular, long, yellowish white, narrow, and strong, covered with a greasy bark, which is smooth, fleshy, sweet, and interspersed with narrow fibers. The branches are numerous and can grow along the ground; they are long, simple, smooth, large, and flexible, with a significant pithy center surrounded by a little wood. The offshoots that are removed are very slender, simple, brown, and are fuzzy at the end of the branches. The leaves are an inch a part and the have small, thin pedicles and are not unlike an iron lance that begins with a wide base and ends in a point that is long, narrow, and sharp. They are of different sizes, the lowest being sometimes a span long, roughly two inches wide, while those at the top of the shrub a quarter this size. They resemble the leaves of the true paper tree in substance, color, and size are also serrated with slender veins running along the back, the largest of which extend from the leaf base to the tip, dividing the leaf into two equal parts. They produce several longitudinal veins, which are intersected by still smaller ones. I cannot say anything about the flowers or fruit, as I haven not observed them.

3. The plant the Japanese call the oreni is defined by Kaempfer as: alua, radice viscosa, flora ephermo, magna, punico .

The plant possesses a white root that is fat, fleshy, fibrous, and full of viscous juice, which is crystal clear; it has a rod-like structure the height of a fathom or so, which is quite simple and does not last more than a year. The new shoots, if they come, emerge from the axis of the leaf after a year. They are soft and spongy within, white, with viscous juice. The stem is surrounded at irregular intervals with leaves that are four to five inches in length, arched, and of a muted purple; the pedicles are usually hollow, fleshy, and full of life.

The leaves are quite similar to mathiole alua, growing in a round shape, about a span in diameter, composed of seven lobes divided by deep notches, but unevenly serrated at the edges, except between the notches. The crenulations, or teeth, are large, small in number, and are set at a medium distance from one another. The leaves are of a fleshy substance, full of juice, and they appear to be dark green, bumpy, and rough to the touch. They have pronounced veins that divide each lobe equally, running to the end along with several longitudinal veins that are stiff and brittle, which curve back toward the edge of the leaf.

The flowers are at the end of the stem and offshoots, and are a half an inch in length, with thick, hairy pedicles, the width of which increases at the end of the calyx. Flowers are formed at the calyx, which is composed of five petals or green leaves, with lines of purple and brown and a hairy edge. The flowers are also composed of five petals or leaves of a light purple, bordering on white. They are as large as a hand and sometimes larger. The base is very large, and of a purple that is redder and very pronounced. The leaves of the flowers are, as noted, large, round, and striped. They are narrow and short at the bottom of the calyx which is narrow, short, and fleshy; the pistil is an inch long, fat, plain, sweet, and covered with a flesh-colored dust, which is yellowish and sits atop the pistil like small bumps; the pistil terminates with five whistling thorns covered with a red down, and round in form.

Leaves only last for a day, and fall away at night, replaced after a little less than five days by five pentagonal seed capsules, formed together at the top, two inches in length, an inch and a half wide, membranous, thick, and turning blackish when mature. One can observe five capsules which contain a varying number of seeds, perhaps ten or fifteen in all, and that are a deep, dark brown, rugged, small like peppercorns, slightly compressed, and easily removed.

4. The futo-kadsura in Japanese is described by Kaempfer as: frutex viscosus, procumbens, folio telephii vulgaris aemulo, fructu racemoso.

It is a small shrub irregularly comprised of several branches the size of a finger, from which offshoots emerge at random. They are rugged, covered in warts, cleaved, and brown in color. The shrub is covered with a thick rind, fleshy, and viscous, consisting of a small number of slender fibers that protrude out. If you chew the bark, your mouth will fill with a mucilaginous substance. The leaves are thick, and attached to a thin pedicle, which is arched and purple in color. They appear to grow at random and resemble the leaves of telephium vulgare : narrow at the bottom, they grow larger and terminate in a peak. They are two, three, or four inches long, at most an inch wide in the middle, a little stiff and fat, sometimes folded in back, wavy, soft to the touch, pale greenish in hue, with a small number of points that form a saw-tooth edge along the length of the main nerve, which is intersected by many smaller ones.

The fruits hang an inch and a half long from their stems and are slender and green. They are shaped in a cluster composed of several berries (sometimes thirty or forty), arranged in a circle on a body that serves as their base. The berries closely resemble grape seeds: purplish in winter when they are ripe. Their thin membrane contains a thick juice that is almost tasteless and bland. In each berry are two seeds, whose form resembles an onion, in that they look compressed together where they are touching. They are about the size of ordinary grape seeds, covered with a thin membrane and gray; their substance is hard, whitish, tart, and tastes almost rotten – it is very disagreeable to the palate. The berries are arranged around a base that tends toward being round or oval, with a fleshy substance, spongy, and soft, about an inch in diameter, not unlike a strawberry. They are reddish and possess an indentation, where moderately deep recesses can be seen once the berries are removed from it.

Note

1. Engelbert Kaempfer, The History of Japan, Together With a Description of the Kingdom of Siam, 1690-92 (New York: The Macmillan company, 1906). “Engelbert Kaempfer (1651–1716) was a German naturalist and physician known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, South-East Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels. Amoenitatum Exoticarum , published in 1712, is important for its medical observations and the first extensive description of Japanese plants ( Flora Japonica ). His History of Japan , published posthumously in 1727, was the chief source of Western knowledge about the country throughout the 18th century.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Kaempfer. Accessed 8/2/2014.