Becoming a Papermaker: Perspectives from Japan

A 2016 lecture by Aimee for the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies:

Japan’s paper soared throughout history as the most well-known and beloved paper produced in East Asia, and as WWII bomb-laden paper balloons. Japan’s papermakers are humble, hard-working artisans in rural areas who produce distinctive and varied papers. This lecture will present papermakers in Japan devoted to their craft, ranging from a village elder continuing his family’s trade to a young woman inspired by a letter to spend years in training to start her own paper mill. American, Canadian, and Israeli papermakers join their native counterparts, highlighted through images, video, and their perspectives on the state of Japanese papermaking today.