This ambitious compendium gathers together an impressive collection of handmade and machine-made paper samples presently being produced in Japan. The essays and reference texts provide history, process, and uses of the samples. Washi: The Soul of Japan is a treasure trove of washi knowledge. In keeping with Japanese custom, painstaking care went into the aesthetic of each component of the collection. To access the 1,058 paper samples, the reader must open boxes, unwrap layers, and empty slipcases before handling each book bound in the traditional Japanese sidestabbed method. The sample books are divided into three categories— handmade, machine-made, and decorative—with the majority of the volumes dedicated to true, handmade washi. Within each category, the books are further organized by region. Each paper sample is preceded by a uniform datasheet detailing the name, size, fiber content, maker, and washi: the soul of japan, fine japanese paper in the second millennium Essays by Kotani Ryuichi, Kume Yasuo, Yagihashi Shin, Umeda Futoshi, Renate & Paul Woudhuysen; notes by papermakers. Kyoto, Japan: Washi: The Soul of Japan Committee, 2011. 12 volumes, 1,058 paper samples, 8¾ x 11¾ inches, hardcover. Japanese with English translations by Doi Yuko and Tatiana Ginsberg. Edition of 800 for ¥350,000 with optional special case for additional ¥12,600. Visit or contact the Washi Committee Sales Bureau, Takakura- Nishiiru, Takoyakushidori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan, tel: +81 75-221-1070, email: otoiawase331@rakushikan.com. For more information, visit website: http://washi-bunkazai.com/english/. All photos by Akemi Martin. location as well as the papermaker's notes on the process, history, and usage. Like wine in France or olive oil in Italy, terroir plays a vital role when discussing washi, and The Soul of Japan strives to communicate this point to readers. Volume 1 places readers in the northernmost papermaking region, Hokkaido, and works its way south. Along the way, one discovers regional specialties like Uchiyamagami nisanban a snow-bleached paper, made in a method that takes full advantage of the harsh winters in Nagano, or Kihōsen tōgen, a calligraphy paper made from a mixture of locally grown straw, kozo, and mitsumata. In the essay "The Present Condition of Papermaking Areas and Thoughts for the Future," found in Volume 12, Yagihashi Shin describes how World War II and modern industrialization in the last century nearly ruined these regional practices. He quotes an early washi scholar, Dr. Jugaku Bunsho, lamenting in 1943, "In the old days papermakers covered Japan like a surface, but gradually they formed a line, and now they are scattered sparsely like dots." Readers already familiar with Japan and/or washi will be able to penetrate the books more easily than those new to the geography, craft, and language. Although translated in English, the books still read in the Japanese format (from right to left) and some elements sadly remain in Japanese. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is the traditional papermaking folk songs that are transcribed beautifully by Ayamura Tanen in Japanese calligraphy on pages interspersed throughout the books. Documented by Sakata Yoshie to preserve the oral history of papermaking, this valuable addition remains teasingly enigmatic to non-Japanese speakers. Readers intending to look up specific types of paper will have difficulty without first identifying the origin of the paper. The index follows the same organizational format as the books themselves, more like a table of contents. There are no other indices that organize the content differently (by type of paper or the papermaker's seal, for example). Without knowing the region of the paper, the reader faces an arduous search to locate the sample in mind. Still one can happily spend weeks absorbing the vast amount of information. Every sample warrants close inspection by the washi enthusiast as does each descriptive page. It is particularly rewarding to read the notes by Ichibei Iwano IX, the Living National Treasure who continues to make his family's 300-year-old Kizuki hōsho, then be able to flip the page and feel the warmth and softness of the sheet itself. Throughout the volumes, papermakers' notes are a pleasure to read since each one reveals a distinct point of view. Some focus on the legacy of the paper, while others highlight the process by writing the notes in a recipe format. The notes accompanying Takushi seigaiha kurumizome—a decorative, handmade sheet dyed with walnuts, coated in starch, and heavily debossed in the traditional wave pattern—give a generous description of the entire process. Even though the scope of washi being produced in Japan is a fraction of what it used to be, there is still a rich variety of products represented. Shifu (cloth woven from washi thread), shibori somegami (Japanese tie-dyed paper), aizomeshi (indigo dyed), senmenshi (paper used to make Kyoto-style fans), and kinkarakami (gilt-embossed, imitationleather wallpaper) are a few examples. Approaching The Soul of Japan for the first time can be overwhelming since it is both a collection of paper and also a window into Japanese culture and history. Like any foreign culture, barriers exist to those outside of it. The idea conveyed in the title clarifies only after studying the paper samples and reading the informative essays which successfully communicate the sheer innovation that has gone into centuries of washi evolution. Its many properties, which in turn serve numerous purposes, are a testament to washi's versatility and elegance as a material. For those who already know this, The Soul of Japan is a welcome and significant record in the ongoing endeavor to preserve the tradition. And for diligent readers who are new to washi, experiencing these books will surely impart the expertise gained and nourished by countless generations of Japanese papermakers.
