390 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS. 



6. " Wiener Aiisstellungsberichte iiber die XI. Gruppe." By R. Weber, E. 

 Twerdy und Andern. 1873.^ 



7. M. Jametel : " L'encre de Chine d apr^s des documents Chinois." Paris, 

 1882. 



The manifold uses of paper ^ in Japan have been repeatedly 

 mentioned in the old accounts of the country. E. Kaempfer especi- 

 ally, nearly two hundred years ago, observed and described the 

 making and use of this paper so well, that he has not found 

 his equal during the long period of the Dutch trade privilege, 

 and still less in the preceding time of the Portuguese trade with 

 this Orient of the Chinese. If much that he has written is un- 

 reliable, it must be attributed chiefly to the circumstances under 

 which he passed two years in Japan, the strict commercial limitations, 

 and the lack of opportunity to enter and inspect the interior of 

 the country. 



In modern times, not only every foreigner in Japan, but every 

 visitor at the Universal Exhibitions of Vienna, Philadelphia, and 

 Paris, could easily observe how manifold are the uses of this 

 peculiar material. It serves all the purposes for which we use 

 paper : for book printing and making of wall papers, for writing 

 and packing material, — and in addition to these, it is a substitute 

 for string and cloth, oilcloth and leather, and even wood, iron, and 

 glass. Many of its uses sprang from the lack of proper material, 

 c?r its light, cheap nature — as for window panes and handkerchiefs, 

 umbrellas and parasols — and will surely, though gradually, pass 

 away under foreign influence. Others are founded on some of its 

 properties, especially the great pliability, firmness, and durability 

 which distinguishes Japanese hand-made paper over our machine- 

 made, and even over our firmer rag-paper, and thus will last as 

 long as it maintains these excellent qualities. These advantages 

 are based on the material and the manner of manufacture, for the 

 Japanese hand- made paper is made of the very tough and pliant 

 inner bark of from three to six species of deciduous trees, which 

 have long, tough fibre cells, and in transforming this into paper 

 pulp it is not cut and hacked, but by pounding and beating is only 

 softened and separated, so that the long cells remain whole. 



In this way the Japanese bark paper evinces a surprising tough- 

 ness and flexibility, and combines the softness of silk paper with 

 the firmness of a woven, texture. Like its kindred Tapa of the 

 Polynesians, it occupies a middle place between our smooth, brittle 

 machine paper and a woven fabric, and can in many cases be em- 

 ployed like the latter, but will not withstand moisture. As the 

 felting and twisting of the long, tender fibres is excluded by the 



^ The foundation of the treatise now in hand has been chiefly the Report of 

 the Prussian Minister of Trade, of the 25th of January, 1875, which is based on 

 personal studies and observations. 



2 The Japanese name for paper is Kami, and as an affix to the proper name 

 it is changed into garni, for which the Chinese word shi is often used. 



