Detail, wa-no-kami

Handmade Japanese paper, known as ‘washi’, lends a room a gentle ambiance as light passes through paper-covered sliding doors. Today ‘paper’ usually makes us think of books or sheets for writing, but in this picture we see a room whose walls, floor and windows are covered with hand-made paper fittings.
Washi has long been a much-loved material in Japanese daily life. Both lightweight and strong, it has been used not only for stationery but to make umbrellas, various containers, and a wide range of other items. However, as people today tend to see paper as lacking water-resistance and durability, applications of washi have steadily decreased.