(water rushes) - Nestled next to a little river carrying crystal-clear water from the Shikoku Mountains in Kochi, Japan is a factory that, for over 75 years, has been blending ancient tradition and modern technology and producing some of the finest washi kozo in the world.

Welcome to Hidakawashi.

(soft pensive music) I'm Julian Baumgartner.

As a fine art conservator over the past two decades working to preserve artworks, I've been fortunate enough to meet and work with some of the most talented, driven, and interesting people in the arts.

And now I wanna take you into their worlds, to meet them, hear their stories, and share their passions.

So join me as we go behind the canvas.

Hiroyoshi Chinzei learned the art of papermaking from his father.

And while the tradition of paper in Japan dates back more than 1,300 years, Hidakawashi is on the forefront of mixing tradition with technology.

Well, Hiroyoshi, thank you so much for inviting me to Japan, to your company to see how washi kozo is made.

But I have to ask why we are here in a field and not in a papermaking studio.

- We are here because I wanna show you mulberry, and this is the Japanese paper raw materials.

- [Julian] Oh, so this is the kozo of washi kozo?

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- [Julian] Okay, so does most of the kozo come from a field like this?

- No, we have to go into the mountain to collect kozo, but my friend made this huge area a kozo field.

- [Julian] So why is it more beneficial to get the kozo from here?

- It's more straight compared to the natural one.

- [Julian] Okay, and why is that better?

- It's easy to peel off the outer bark.

- Oh, okay, so less work on that end.

So what about mulberry is so special?

Why is this the plant that Japanese papermakers have been using for thousands of years?

- [Hiroyoshi] Mulberry's fiber is longer than the other plants.

Usually, they say 50 millimeters.

- [Julian] Okay.

- So that longer fiber makes a strong paper.

- Okay, so the long fibers of the mulberry plant yield a stronger paper.

How big do these get and how long do they live?

- [Hiroyoshi] This is one year.

- This is one year of growth?

- Uh-huh.

- My gosh, that is a lot.

How much paper could this one plant make?

- [Hiroyoshi] This whole field we can get one ton kozo bark.

- Is that a lot of raw material?

- For us, for machine making, just one month.

- Wow, so one month.

So you guys go through a lot of mulberry.

Are there fields like this all over Japan?

- [Hiroyoshi] No, nothing like this.

They go into the mountains.

- Wow, so that's a lot of work.

So the plant gets cut down, I presume.

I see a lot of old branches that were removed.

- Every winter, they cut the branches, and then next year we get some new branches.

- Oh, so you can just cut this down to the stump, and next year it will grow new?

- [Hiroyoshi] Yes.

- That's pretty remarkable.

And I noticed that there's no irrigation here.

So how does it get watered?

- Because we have lots of rain in Kochi Prefecture and sunshine, we don't have to water and anything.

- So you don't have to water it.

It is fast growing.

It is regenerative.

It seems like a pretty special, pretty amazing plant.

So how does this plant get turned into paper?

- After we peel off the bark, we shave the outer bark, and then we get this kind of white layer.

The farmer brings the white bark into the factory.

- Okay, and then that's where it gets turned into paper.

And I'm guessing is that where we're going next?

- Yes, I will show you how to make Japanese paper from out of this.

- Well, I can't wait to see it.

- Okay, now you saw where the mulberry comes from.

Here I can show you how to make Japanese paper by hand.

- Oh wow.

- And I have a friend who is working here, and he's not making paper today, but he can show you the tools and the techniques for you.

- Oh, fantastic, I'd love to see it.

So, Hiroyoshi, where are we?

- [Hiroyoshi] This is the traditional Japanese papermaking studio.

- Okay, so traditional going back to the seventh century?

- Something like that, yes.

- Okay, I'm excited to see this.

- And this is Osamu Hamada.

- Nice to meet you, thank you.

- And this is a tool for the hand papermaking.

- Okay, what is this called?

- [Hiroyoshi] Keta.

- [Julian] Keta, okay.

- He's gonna show you how to use it.

- Oh, very cool.

- Su.

- Su.

- Su is net.

- Okay.

- This is a net for the scooping the fiber.

- Oh, okay.

So something that the fibers sit on to give it structure to make the paper.

Okay.

So the su goes onto the keta.

- Keta.

And set it.

- And are there different types of su?

And what would be the difference in the su?

- This is bamboo, and they use other plants.

And sometimes the paper surface is different.

You see very, you know, tiny little lines.

So you can control the surface of the paper by changing the su.

So why is the keta clipped into these ropes?

- [Hiroyoshi] Because you scoop water and fiber.

Kind of heavy.

- [Julian] Oh, it's just to assist, gotcha.

And so what is he adding now?

- [Hiroyoshi] This is mulberry.

- Oh, this is the mulberry, okay.

And is this water from the river?

- [Hiroyoshi] This is from the underground.

- Oh, from a spring.

And now does the type of water matter?

Could you use water from a tap or faucet?

- Yeah, we believe so because water's pH should be like natural.

- Oh, I see, right.

So the pH balance of the water matters.

And if it's off, then it could affect the paper.

- Right.

- [Julian] So he added the mulberry and then... - Usually he put more, but this is, you know... - Yeah.

Okay, so he agitates it and disperses the mulberry around the water.

- After you put raw materials and disperse agent, and then he use this to mix up.

- Oh, okay.

So after hand mixing then uses this.

- To do little straw.

The water makes the circle, and then the fiber disperse.

- Evenly.

- Right.

- So even is really important because, if it's not even, then the paper won't be even.

- You want a paper makes, you know, the even thickness.

You place the su on the keta.

- He puts the su on.

And so he'll choose the su based on the paper he's making.

- That's right.

- Okay.

Okay, so he's gonna scoop the water in and then agitate it, move it around.

The water will drain and then the fibers will sit on the surface.

- That's right.

And then make something like this.

- [Julian] Oh, okay.

He transfers the su.

- Transfers on the back of su.

- [Julian] Ah, okay.

So this is the paper.

- [Hiroyoshi] Back of su paper.

- It's so thin.

And I can see the su, the lines, yeah.

It's like a watermark, yeah.

It's very beautiful.

So then after the paper is laid, what happens to it?

- And then we squeeze the water.

- Uh-huh.

- [Hiroyoshi] We press.

- Oh, we put it into a big press?

Drain the water.

- Drain the water.

- Dry it out.

- And then bring it to the dryer part.

- Oh, it needs to dry.

So after the water gets pressed out, it comes in here.

- And then they put something like this.

And on the dryer heat surface.

- Oh, this is hot.

Yeah, this is really hot.

- And you do... - Oh, okay.

So you would go like this to transfer them from this paper to the drying rack.

Okay.

And then you have... - [Hiroyoshi] Something like this.

- Look at that.

And then this will be a business card, and it can get the name and everything like that.

And that's one special business card, I'll tell you.

Hiroyoshi, this is fascinating.

So this is how paper has been made in Japan for thousands of years by traditional craftspeople who have learned this art through generations and generations.

But I'd imagine that over time technology has come into play and it's evolved.

- Yes, before this drying board was invented, they used to put paper on the board and then put under the sunlight to dry it.

- Oh, okay.

So something as simple as moving from outdoors in the sun to a heated drying board.

But that's probably not the only technological advance that's happened.

- That leads us to making paper by machine, like my factory.

- And that's where Hidakawashi comes in.

So can we go see that?

- [Hiroyoshi] Sure.

- Excellent.

- Okay, next I will show you the raw material kozo.

- So this is the raw kozo.

- Uh-huh.

- And how do you get these bundles?

- [Hiroyoshi] We get something like this from the farmer.

- [Julian] Okay.

- And then you can see this is from China.

- This is Chinese kozo?

- Chinese kozo.

And this is Japanese kozo.

Japanese kozo is more thinner compared to the Chinese kozo.

- And why would you need a thinner kozo?

- Japanese kozo we can use for the conservation paper.

- Oh, so this is my paper?

Oh, beautiful.

And so then after you receive these bundles, I'm guessing there's a lot of processing that has to happen.

So what's the next step?

- We can boil these mulberry trees.

- Oh, they get boiled?

- Uh-huh.

- Is that over here?

- Over there.

- So these look like the Chinese kozo.

- Yes, that's right.

- Okay.

And so then before cooking, does anything need to happen to this?

- [Hiroyoshi] He's separating the kozo fiber and checking the inside too.

- Oh, so making sure there's no... - Doesn't have the moss or anything.

- [Julian] Right, because whatever gets put into the cooking could contaminate.

I see.

How much paper can this make?

- 40 kilograms.

- 40 kilos.

- We make paper something like maximum 20 kilograms.

We have to wash and get rid of the specks.

- So 40 kilograms of raw kozo yields 20 kilograms of paper.

- That's right.

- Okay, so a 50% loss, that's a lot.

So he's dropping in the raw kozo, the dried kozo into this vat.

And what's in this vat?

- Water and sodium carbonate.

- Oh, why do you add sodium carbonate?

- To get rid of the wax in the fibers.

- I see, so the natural kozo has wax in it, and the sodium bicarbonate and the hot water pulls it out.

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- And I'm guessing it also softens up the pretty stiff kozo.

How long does it cook for?

- [Hiroyoshi] Maybe two hours.

- Oh, that's a long time.

- Depends on the condition of the mulberry.

- I'm guessing that the Japanese mulberry takes less time 'cause it's thinner.

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- [Julian] Okay.

So he's moving the kozo through this vat of hot water.

Just trying to make sure all of it gets softened up.

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- Can I try?

- Oh sure.

(Hiroyoshi speaks Japanese) Please be careful, this is very hot.

- It's too hot for me.

(Hiroyoshi laughs) Okay, so after it's cooked, what happens next?

- We have to wash and then remove the specks.

- Okay.

- And it's over there.

- Over there, all right, let's go.

Okay, so after the kozo is boiled, it's cooked, it's softened, it then comes over here.

- Right.

- It cools.

And then what happens here?

- And then we wash out the sodium carbonate and then remove the specks by hand.

- Oh, this is done by hand?

- Right.

- And so what are we doing here?

- [Hiroyoshi] We have to mix up and wash and then remove the specks.

- Okay, can you show me?

- She will show you how to do it.

- So she's cleansing the kozo, removing the sodium bicarbonate, and then bringing it to the surface.

So what is she doing now?

This is all by hand.

She's separating the specks from the fiber.

- She's washing the kozo and then removing the specks.

- Wow, this is a lot of hand work.

- This is a lot of hand work.

- How long would it take her to go through, what, 40 kilos, one vat?

(Hiroyoshi speaks Japanese) (worker speaks Japanese) - Two hours.

- Two hours, that's it?

- [Hiroyoshi] She's been doing this for a long time.

- [Julian] So experience really matters here.

- If you are a freshman, it takes a day.

- Wow, so it would take me a week.

It would take somebody new a day.

And it takes her two hours.

- [Hiroyoshi] Yes.

- That's remarkable.

So can I see... This is the... - [Hiroyoshi] We don't want this black part.

- [Julian] This part, okay.

- [Hiroyoshi] Like something like this.

- [Julian] And what we want to keep is... This is what we want.

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- So she looks for this, feels it, separates it.

This stays here.

The specks goes away.

And then what happens to the fibers?

- Move to the beater process.

- Oh, the beating process, okay.

Wow.

In every step of the process, the harmonious marriage between machine and handcraft is evident.

And it's this careful attention to detail found in the years of experience born at the hands of master craftspeople that ensures the quality of the paper.

So after all of the kozo gets washed, it then gets brought up here.

And what do we have under here?

- This one.

This mulberry is bleached.

- Oh yeah, the color is much brighter than what we saw.

Is all of the mulberry bleached?

- Not for the conservation paper.

This is for the shoji screen and wrapping paper.

And stuff like that.

- So depending on the final outcome, this is maybe more cosmetic?

- Interior, exterior kinds of paper.

- Where a bright white finish would be needed.

But for conservators, we don't want the bleach.

- They tend to use non-bleached paper.

- Right.

So it wouldn't be bleached.

But this one is now ready to go to the next step, which I'm assuming is in this big giant machine.

- [Hiroyoshi] Yes, this is called naginata beater.

- Naginata beater.

So what does this machine do?

- This one, this beater will cut into the small fibers.

- Okay, 'cause these fibers are pretty long.

- Like a juicer mixer.

- It's like a blender.

It takes the long fibers.

- Into the small fiber.

- [Julian] And it takes small fibers because we need small fibers to make paper.

Okay.

So I see he separates it a little bit, not just dumping it.

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- Is that to ensure no clumps?

- That's right.

- [Julian] And now does the beater cut the fibers all to the same size or can it be adjusted?

- Yes, it depends on the time.

- [Julian] Gotcha.

So the longer it stays in, the smaller the fiber is?

- [Hiroyoshi] Right.

- Right.

And that would probably make a finer paper?

Does that make it a more strong or less strong paper?

- [Hiroyoshi] Shorter fiber makes more strong paper.

- Really, so a shorter fiber makes stronger.

That seems counterintuitive.

- More dense.

The fiber gets dense.

- I got it.

- And then longer fiber gets more soft.

- Oh, okay.

So, again, depending on the final use of the paper... - [Hiroyoshi] We change that process time.

- Right, right.

So now that the beater's been filled with the kozo.

- Kozo and water.

- And water.

And then he moves it around and then he turns it on.

So he's helping the kozo move through the beater.

Is that to ensure it gets evenly cut?

- [Hiroyoshi] That's right.

- So, again, we have a machine, but it depends upon the hand work.

So before a machine, how would this be done by hand?

- Beating.

- Just hitting it over and over again.

Okay.

So, Hiroyoshi, once the fibers have been beat to the correct length, what happens to this mixture?

- We drain the bottle and then go get little of the water and then move to the papermaking.

- So this goes right to papermaking.

Can we see it?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

It's in this carefully controlled and deliberate drying process where the kozo gains its strength.

Checked on frequently and monitored regularly, the fibers are pulled to make paper only when the strictest standards are met.

Okay, Hiroyoshi.

So we've seen the raw materials be prepped, and now you're taking me over here to this big gray box.

But what is this?

- This is a papermaking machine, Julian, and he's gonna press the button.

And the whole machine will start moving.

- Okay, so this is the machine that turns the raw materials into the paper?

- [Hiroyoshi] Right.

- [Julian] Okay, well, let's see.

- [Hiroyoshi] Okay.

- [Julian] Okay, so the materials have to work their way over to here.

And once there is enough of them, then the machine can start moving that material.

- [Hiroyoshi] Into the netting.

- Into the netting, okay.

But what is this raw material?

- This is water and then mulberry kozo fiber and then viscous agent.

- Okay, so why do we have to add a viscosity agent to the mulberry and water mixture?

- [Hiroyoshi] To disperse the fiber in the water evenly.

- I see, so the little fibers that have been cut are now evenly dispersed throughout the water, and they're suspended in the water.

- Right, right.

I can show you how thick this viscous agent is.

- [Julian] Oh yeah.

- [Hiroyoshi] And it doesn't have adhesiveness.

- It's just meant to suspend the little fibers in the water so it's even and there aren't clumps or the fibers don't settle to the bottom.

- Right.

- I see, okay.

So now that the machine has fed this mixture, this slurry up to another machine, what happens then?

- [Hiroyoshi] And then the machine start making the paper.

- [Julian] Oh, so it's gonna actually turn this slurry into the paper?

- [Hiroyoshi] Right.

- Can we go see it?

- Uh-huh.

- All right.

(bright Japanese music) Okay, so he's now turned on the machine.

He's feeding the raw material into this hopper.

- [Hiroyoshi] And this thing will start rotating.

- [Julian] And the constant agitation is necessary to keep it from settling?

- [Hiroyoshi] Right.

- [Julian] Okay, so I see the mixture going across, but it's so thin, it looks just like water.

Where is the fiber?

- The fiber is in the water.

White part is a wire net.

- Okay, so this is a net.

Oh, I see, so the mixture comes here, it floods the net, and then the water slowly goes down.

And the fibers stay.

- [Hiroyoshi] Forms the sheet.

- Okay.

And it's moving a little bit back and forth.

Why does it do that?

- This machine duplicates the hand papermaking.

- [Julian] And is that texture... - [Hiroyoshi] That is paper pulp.

- Oh, that's the paper pulp.

Oh wow.

The fibers have settled on the net, and then they get transferred to this blanket?

Is that what I'm seeing?

- [Hiroyoshi] Uh-huh, yes.

And then moved to the drying part.

- Okay, that seems really quick, but it's such a thin layer.

Are you able to adjust how thick that layer is by the speed or by the... - We control the thickness by speed and then the thickness of the raw material.

- I see, okay.

So the paper has now been transferred from the net to the blanket.

And then it goes to the drying process.

- [Hiroyoshi] This is the drying part.

- Oh, I can feel the heat, it's pretty warm.

- [Hiroyoshi] This pulped paper is still wet.

- Okay, I've noticed that the paper has transferred from this thicker orange blanket to this thinner yellow one.

- [Hiroyoshi] Right.

- [Julian] Does the texture of the blanket have any effect on the final paper?

- Uh-huh, yes.

We change the blanket, depends on the paper.

- Okay.

- And then maybe the thickness.

- Oh, I see, okay.

So every aspect is controlled, and it's completely customizable.

And I'm guessing that a lot of it is based on your experience, that you maybe have a recipe but you have a feel.

- Yeah, yeah, we start from papermaking studio by hand.

- So the machines, really, you can't work on the machines until you've learned how to do it by hand.

- [Hiroyoshi] Right.

- And so this is the paper?

- [Hiroyoshi] Uh-huh.

- Wow, it's really dry.

- [Hiroyoshi] Yes.

- It dries pretty quickly.

- [Hiroyoshi] Uh-huh.

- This is amazing.

So in just a matter of minutes, it goes from a liquid to this gorgeous paper.

But I'm guessing that, if I stand here all day, I'm gonna get overwhelmed by the paper.

So where does this go?

Oh, okay.

- Yes.

- It's so thin, but you can see all of the fibers and how evenly they're dispersed.

There's no clumps, there's no chunks.

So that's a real testament to the control that the machine has.

- [Hiroyoshi] Yes.

- Even after the lace-like washi rolls off the mill, it's inspected for blemishes, cut, and weighed to ensure that the appropriate weight and density is achieved.

Any paper not meeting these specifications is recycled.

So, Hiroyoshi, I see we have the roll of paper that came off of the machine, correct?

But it's on another smaller machine.

What is happening here?

- This machine makes a small roll, like something like 10 meters, 20 meters.

- Oh, I see, right.

Depending on what the customer needs, you'll cut it and then send it to them.

Gotcha, gotcha.

So he tears off the waste, which has wrinkles and crinkles.

And then he puts a tube in and carefully makes sure it's tucked in so that there's no crinkles.

So even something as simple as rolling it, he's gotta be here making sure it's done right, monitoring it.

- Sometimes the thickness of the paper is different.

- Oh, right.

- He has to balance it.

- [Julian] I see, right.

- To avoid the wrinkles on the paper.

See if he finds the deficient part.

- [Julian] Oh, there's a little, a blemish.

Ah, so he stops it and then that is discarded.

Okay.

- [Hiroyoshi] Recycled.

- Oh, so you can take this... - And boil it again.

- Oh really?

- And use it again.

- Oh, that's fantastic.

So there's no waste?

- No.

- Oh, that's really great.

- He's balancing and checking the paper.

He's doing both at the same time.

- But I'm seeing you have binders and binders full of samples.

Is this the entire catalog of what you make?

- [Hiroyoshi] This is part of our products.

- This is just a sampling?

- Yes.

- Wow.

- As you can see, this is the conservation paper sample.

- This is the paper that we like.

My god.

- You see the natural color from the mulberry tree?

- Right, so unbleached, just kind of raw.

And all different weights and all different styles.

Just about everything a conservator could ever want.

It's pretty amazing.

This is 2.0.

So you measure the weight of the paper in grams per meter.

Obviously, the higher the grams, the heavier weight paper.

So two grams per meter means one meter of paper, it weighs only two grams.

- Something like this.

- This is barely paper.

This is like air.

- Yes.

- My god, that is so remarkably thin.

But for conservators who need to mend delicate documents, this paper is incredibly strong.

So even though it's almost completely transparent.

- That's right.

- There's enough structural support here for conservators to use this to repair the most important documents.

- Right.

- [Julian] It's really a testament to what an amazing plant the mulberry tree is.

- And made by only the natural fiber.

So it doesn't affect the conservation.

- Right, there's no glues, there's no dyes.

There's just the natural fibers.

But it's not just conservation papers that you make.

I see this one is full of colorful papers.

These are not appropriate for conservation, but, look, this is a rainbow of paper.

- Yes, this is for wrapping paper and interior paper.

We have 1,300 colors.

- You have 1,300 different colors of paper you can make?

- By hand, by machine.

- That is remarkable.

So there is a paper for everybody?

- Right, this is our catalog.

- [Julian] This is beautiful.

So paper for artists to work with ink.

- [Hiroyoshi] For printing.

- Oh, right.

Woodblock printing traditionally, yeah.

How do you achieve something like this or like this?

- It depends how to process the raw material.

Shorter time to beat.

- Right, so during the beating, instead of beating all the fibers, only some are are beaten.

So you have a mixture.

- That's right.

And we pour the shower on the papermaking process nets.

- Oh, and that's how you get... - Make a hole on the surface.

- That's really cool.

So was this silver and gold?

- Silver and gold foil.

- Oh, that's gotta be special.

So it seems like there might be a lot of experimentation that happens.

Trying new things.

Seeing what you can do.

A mix of thousand-year-old tradition and cutting-edge technology, with a nice balance of the two.

Oh, very decorative papers.

- These are very popular for the Chinese market.

And this is only the sample for a part of our products.

And we can make a paper upon your customer's wishlist.

- Right, so anything you can dream of.

That's really cool.

Well, Hiroyoshi, thank you for inviting me to Hidakawashi.

This has been such an amazing experience to see the papers that I work with in my studio and in my personal life, how they're made, how you blend ancient tradition with modern technology and ultimate sensitivity.

This has just been fantastic, and I can think of so many ways that I can use these papers in the future.

So, once again, thank you.

This has been really a treat.

Throughout all of our lives, paper is omnipresent.

It forms the backbone of our currencies, carries messages of love, and is the foundation for drawings and paintings.

Yet here in the hills of the Shikoku Mountains at Hidakawashi, the paper is the art.

(soft Japanese music) (soft Japanese music continues)