Scene of the production of torinoko paper, Echizen washi

In 1928, the first Heizaburo Iwano made decorative paper for the standing screen depicting song scenes from various areas of Japan (shūki chihō fuzoku uta byōbu) used in the ceremonies for the enthronement of the Shōwa Emperor. Washi lovers became increasingly conscious of the superior durability of washi over silk for painting and the greater strength of hand-formed paper over machine made paper. In their Japanese style paintings (Yamato-e), Gyokudo Kawai and Shunkyo Yamamoto, both fans of washi, depicted the strict selection of materials and the process of forming paper while singing papermaking songs.