Skin deep: Japan's 'washi' paper torn by modern life

Once an indispensable part of daily life in Japan, ultra-thin washi paper was used for everything from writing and painting to lampshades, umbrellas, and sliding doors, but demand has plunged as lifestyles have become more westernized.

Despite its 1,300-year history and UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status, washi paper is struggling to attract consumers and the market value has dropped by more than 50 percent in the past two decades.

This picture taken on March 15, 2019 shows Hidaka Washi President Hiroyoshi Chinzei, a fourth-generation traditional paper maker, displaying the world's thinnest paper at his factory in Hidaka, Kochi prefecture, some 640 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. [Photo: AFP]

But at a small workshop in western Japan, Hiroyoshi Chinzei, a fourth-generation traditional paper maker, creates washi with a unique purpose that may help revive interest -- both at home and abroad.

Chinzei's product, the world's thinnest paper, has helped save historical documents at major museums and libraries -- including the Louvre in Paris, the British Museum and Washington's Library of Congress -- from decay.

"Washi paper is more flexible and durable" than what Japanese refer to as "western paper", which disintegrates into tiny pieces when it becomes very old, the 50-year-old told AFP.

This picture taken on March 15, 2019 shows a roll of the world's thinnest "washi" paper at the Hidaka Washi factory in Hidaka, Kochi prefecture, some 640 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. [Photo: AFP]

The traditional hand-made paper is manufactured from plants called kozo, or mulberry, which has fibres that are much longer than materials used for paper in the west such as wood and cotton.

"Old Japanese books from the seventh or eighth century remain in good condition... thanks to the fibers of the kozo plants," the washi maker told AFP at his small factory in Hidaka, a village 640 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

This picture taken on March 15, 2019 shows a worker checking the "washi" paper manufacturing process at the Hidaka Washi factory in Hidaka, Kochi prefecture, some 640 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. [Photo: AFP]