This paper is not just for writing: it goes into the house

A sheet of paper evokes a letter or a book. Japanese washi also participates in the interior design, especially in shoji panels and partitions. A material associated with writing thus becomes an element of the daily framework.

The artisanal practice presented by UNESCO is based on handmade paper mulberry fibers. Their preparation, their passage in the water and their filtration require gestures transmitted between experienced people and apprentices. The chain begins even before the workshop, with the cultivation and harvest of the plant used.

The final sheet seems almost too simple to reveal all this work. Yet, maintaining the know-how requires maintaining a network of families, associations and communities that practice it. The heritage inscription relates to this transmission. The most amazing thing is not only that a leaf can find its place in a partition: it is the number of hands and knowledge that it gathers before appearing ordinary.