Fiber analysis

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Plants used to make Japanese paper belong to the Dicotyledon group. The cellulose cells in a Dicotyledon plant all look alike, so if we enlarge them we can tell with reasonable accuracy what plant they are from.

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Identifying the raw material of the paper allows us to tell where the book is from. For example, Chinese books made in China and Chinese-language books made in Japan not only are bound in completely different ways but also make use of different types of paper. The paper used in Chinese books is called “bamboo paper” (chikushi). Chikushi paper fibers come from the moso bamboo, a plant of the Monocotyledon group. Unlike Dicotyledons, the cells in Monocotyledons come in a variety of shapes. Because chikushi paper could not be produced in Japan, Japan-made books in Chinese were printed on kōzogami (choshi). So as far as Chinese-language books are concerned, even if the book comes without a cover or colophon (a statement at the back of a book stating the name of the publisher, the date of publication, etc.) by examining the fibers we can tell if it was made in China or in Japan.

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Correctly identifying the raw material is also of crucial importance in book restoration. For best results, the same paper as the original should be used. So one should never try to identify the paper based simply on color and consistency. What may look to the eye as gampi paper, for instance, could be kōzogami treated with the “hammering” method (uchigami) or even mitsumata paper. Only by carefully analyzing the paper using modern tools can the source material be reliably identified.

So fiber analysis is equally important for book history and book conservation.

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Ramie fibers are very long and most appear to be cut. Compared to other fibers they are wider and shaped like a ribbon. Paper made from them is very white but the surface is rough.

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Kōzo fibers are longer than gampi and mitsumata fibers. They give a very white paper.

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Gampi fibers have characteristically round ends. The paper tends to be less white than the preceding two fibers.

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The distinctive characteristic of Mitsumata fibers is that the center is larger than the ends. Like the gampi, mitsumata paper is less white.