Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a seminar held by Corsoyard, a handmade washi paper manufacturing studio, sponsored by the Inshu Washi Cooperative Association in Tottori Prefecture.
Representative Sawaki Kenji talked about the history of Corsoyard, the "state of washi paper" and paper making, and origami artist Arisawa Yuuga talked about how he got into papermaking through origami and how he creates his works.
Searching for the perfect paper, making paper from scratch
To make good paper, you need good materials and techniques. For this reason, paper mulberry and tororoaoi are also cultivated.
They have been making the paper for 10 years, but it has only been in the last five years that it has become good enough to sell.
I could sense their passion and desire from the way they approached papermaking.
I actually got to see the paper that was made and it was very dense and beautiful.
The washi products were also very intricate and eye-catching, and I found them very interesting as they are products that cannot be found anywhere else.
I was amazed at the precision and strength of the dragon and Pegasus, which were recreated from a single piece of paper.
This seminar made me realize once again that origami is a work of art.