[Yokote City, Akita Prefecture] Jumonjimachi Japanese paper experience! Postcard papermaking or rose flower making experience ★ Let's enjoy learning more than 200 years of tradition

Jumonji Washi is a Japanese paper with a simple beauty and texture made from native kozo using traditional techniques that have been around for over 200 years in the Jumonji area of Yokote City. We are conducting a tour of the production of Japanese paper, a papermaking experience, and making rose flowers using Jumonji Japanese paper. All ingredients are from Yokote. Postcards and small miscellaneous goods made from Japanese paper, which has been protected for 200 years, can feel the unique softness of Japanese paper and the strength of the earth in Yokote. ■ Experience menu that can be selected from the following ・ Making paper-making postcards We will slowly make paper of Jumonji Japanese paper with a postcard-sized wooden frame. Make your own postcard by placing your favorite flowers on Japanese paper.・ Rose flower making You can experience making rose flowers using the finished Jumonji Japanese paper. You can make flowers that you can enjoy for a long time by softening the Jumonji Japanese paper with your hands and cutting it into the shape of petals and leaves. Also, I was fascinated by Jumonjimachi, and now I can talk about Mr. Izumikawa's abundant knowledge that even textiles using washi threads can be made in an easy-to-understand manner (as expected, a former teacher at an elementary school in Jumonjimachi!), And I get tired of the experience. You can enjoy it without any problems.

・ Postcard making You can experience making Japanese paper with a postcard-sized wooden frame. Make your own postcard by placing your favorite flowers on Japanese paper.・ Experience making rose flowers You can experience making rose flowers using the finished Jumonji Japanese paper. You can make flowers that you can enjoy for a long time by softening the Jumonji Japanese paper with your hands and cutting it into the shape of petals and leaves.

Jumonji Washi is made by traditional handicrafts that have remained unchanged for over 200 years. Kozo, which is the raw material for Japanese paper, is cultivated in-house, and Panicled hydrangea is collected naturally. The Meiji era was the heyday of Jumonji Japanese paper, and there were 50 houses that made paper, and it was sold to other towns and villages including Akita City using the water transportation of the Omono River, but now Kiyoo Sasaki 1 Only people. We convey the technology and history to local junior high school students. Jumonji Japanese paper is difficult to make. The tree called mulberry, which is the raw material for Japanese paper, is sown with side buds so that it grows as straight as possible, and is cut and debranched around November every year. Around December, a work called "steaming" is carried out, in which a large kettle is set on fire to steam the mulberry for over an hour. While it is still warm and steamed, the mulberry skin, which is the raw material for Japanese paper, is peeled off at once. This peeling work is called "peeling" and is done manually, and over two days, hundreds of mulberry "steaming" and "peeling" are repeated. After that, it is dried for about a week (depending on the weather), and the rough skin is removed. After a dozen steps, the washi is finally completed.

Mr. Izumikawa worked as a teacher at an elementary school in Jumonjimachi, Yokote City. I heard that there is only one paper-making craftsman, Jumonji Washi, and the more I knew it, the more I became absorbed in it. After retirement, he started making small items using washi, and after meeting Hiroko Watanabe, who was also fascinated by washi and was active in Akita City, he launched the "Jumonji Washi Lovers Association" five years ago. rice field. There are about 15 members of the lovers' association. We are active in a wide range of activities, such as collecting and preparing materials for Japanese paper and providing a place for local children to experience.