Hosokawa Kozo - 35gsm

A handmade sheet of 100% Japanese Kozo cooked in soda ash.

Hosokawa shi, which takes its name from a village in Wakayama Prefecture where the paper was originally made back in the Edo Period (1603 - 1867), represents the most exquisite form of washi made in the Saitama villages, one of Japan's most prominent washi making areas.
Its fibres are made solely of domestically produced 'Kozo' mulberry tree pulp, which makes the paper so strong and resistant to discolouration that it doesn't grow brittle easily over the years.

"This paper is so sturdy that it was common practice in the Edo Period for people to throw their account books in nearby ponds in the event of a fire. Once the fire subsided, they would retrieve the books from the water and find they were still usable" - Fukushima, A Japanese washi scholar.

Other than account ledgers, it has traditionally also been used to make shoji paper doors and 'binsen' letter paper.

• Heritage Washi - designated a Japanese Heritage treasure by UNESCO.
• Tough and translucent.
• Used in the restoration of antique documents. This paper is extremely versatile, great for digital print, hand printing, restoration and all sorts of wet and dry media.

610 x 915mm (>A1) / 35gsm