Japanese Chopstick Craft: Washi Chopsticks
4/30/2013
Washi chopsticks
are fine handcrafted Japanese chopsticks with handmade decorative washi
paper laminated around the chopstick handles. This method of decorating
chopstick handles with an application of a "design" or "decal" of sorts
is perhaps the earliest predecessor to modern mass-produced heat stamp
designs common on all inexpensive chopsticks produced in China today.
Washi
is the Japanese traditional craft of hand-making paper, dating back
more than 1,000 years. Like manufacturing fine chopsticks, the making of
washi has dwindled in the last hundred years with the advent of modern
machinery and westernized utilitarian papers. Where there were over
100,000 families making washi in the 1800's, there are fewer than 350
remaining today.
Although washi can be made as a plain paper, the
fine craft of washi produces some of the most ornate and decorative
papers, which is what's used on chopsticks.
Washi
is made primarily of three fibers - Kozo (mulberry), Mitsumata and
Gampi. Other fibers such as hemp, abaca, horsehair, rayon, gold and
silver foils are added for decorative effect. The plants are soaked,
bark removed, and then pounded and stretched. The fiber is then mixed
with fermented hibiscus root to form a fibrous paste that is then spread
thin over bamboo screens and set to dry.
The center of washi
production is in Kyoto, Japan, close to Obama, Japan where 80% of all
Japanese chopsticks are made. Thus the natural combination of washi and
chopstick. Washi has been used in making shoji screens and even money,
as well as for writing papers, wrapping paper, packaging, origami, and
art prints.
You can find a wonderful selection of
washi paper wrapped Japanese fine crafted chopsticks at EverythingChopsticks.com.
Browse the selection of decorative and functional washi chopsticks.
They make excellent gifts for your favorite chopsticks lover (including
yourself!).
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