Ancient paper art material—hemp paper

When papermaking was first introduced to Japan, hemp paper was most commonly used. Hemp paper has longer fibers. In ancient China, hemp paper was often made from worn out linen cloth, which required "cutting", steaming and pounding with a stone mortar. Because hemp paper has many pores, ink can penetrate easily. In order to facilitate writing, further processing is required. In ancient China, relatively smooth pig teeth or stones were used to grind, or mineral white powders such as gypsum, lime, and clay were applied to the surface of the paper. The ground hemp paper was similar to the one before processing. The thickness is reduced by about one-third, and the surface becomes extremely dense, making writing more regular. The oldest household register in Japan preserved in Shosoin Treasures and the Catalog of Emperor Shomus Relics (National Treasure Account) presented to Todaiji Temple by Empress Koumei are both written on hemp paper. The more famous hemp paper in Japan is Echizens Unkini hemp paper.

Works painted on Yunji hemp paper

The processing method of hemp paper is relatively cumbersome, and it was later replaced by Yi paper, which can be widely grown and has the same long fiber. But now some people also like to use retro hemp paper to make some paper arts.