Wholesale Japanese Paper

Types of Washi

With enough processing, almost any grass or tree can be made into a washi. Gampi, mitsumata, and paper mulberry are three popular sources.

• Ganpishi - In ancient times, it was called Hishi. Ganpishi has a smooth, shiny surface and is used for books and crafts.
• Kozogami - Kozogami is made from paper mulberry and it is the most widely made type of washi. It has a toughness closer to a cloth than ordinary paper and does not weaken significantly when treated to be water-resistant.
• Mitsumatagami - Mitsumatagami has an ivory colored, fine surface and is used for shodo as well as printing. It was used to print paper money in Meiji period.

Basic skills

Pureland origami is a style of origami that is done by creating only one fold at a time. Because of these restrictions, proponents of the theory have devised alternate methods of folding more complicated steps that have very similar results.

• A valley fold is the first basic fold, in which you fold the paper forward onto itself.
• A mountain fold is the second basic fold, in which the paper is folded behind itself. An easier way to do this is to turn the paper over first and then do a valley fold and turn the paper back over again.
• A pleat fold is several evenly-spaced parallel mountain and valley folds. Also called an "accordion fold."
• A radial pleat fold is an angled pleat fold, usually with a focus point on an edge or corner.
• A blintz fold is made by folding the corners of a square into the center. This can be achieved with higher accuracy by folding and unfolding two reference creases through the center.