PI: Daphne Mohajer va Pesaran | Project ID: 2019SG04
Location of Research: Japan | Host Institution: Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
This project documents knowledge about a form of clothing, a paper kimono, called kamiko (紙衣 or 紙子) made from handmade sheets of wrinkled washi (Japanese paper 和紙). These garments are generally produced by first wetting sheets of washi with a liquid strengthening agent, then softening those sheets by repeatedly crumpling/wrinkling and drying the sheets (these wrinkled sheets are called momigami), then flattening, cutting, and finally gluing or stitching the paper together by hand or machine. During the Edo Period (1603-1868), the production of kamiko reached its peak and was made by craftspeople in various parts of the country, but today, only a few people still hold the knowledge required to produce garments from sheets of handmade paper in this manner.
This EMKP project documents knowledge related to kamiko in Nara Prefecture, Japan. In Nara, knowledge was shared by monks from Tōdaiji, the head temple of the Kegon Buddhist sect, who wear paper kimono, and kimono experts and educators from Ōhara Wafuku Senmon Gakuen, a Japanese-style sewing school, who produce some paper kimono worn by the monks. Fieldwork at Tōdaiji took place in 2020 and 2023. This dataset includes a collection of photographs provided by Tōdaiji that show the processing of sheets of handmade paper into rolls used to make paper kimono. Fieldwork at Ōhara Gakuen took place in 2023 and involved interviews and visual documentation.
In addition to the data gathering described above, a crucial aspect of this project involved knowledge transfer and exchange. Relationships emerging from fieldwork in 2020 eventually led to exchanges between high school students and papermakers. In 2021 and 2022, students studying home economics at Sayō High School in Hyōgo Prefecture learned to make washi from a hand-papermaking association called Kaita Washi. Students from the school contributed a record of their experiences making paper and kamiko to the dataset.
Methodology
The research covered kamiko from its production to its contemporary use, plus a small revival in interest among the younger generation:
- Interviews and data collection with the monks at Tōdaiji and educators at Ohara Gakuen.
- Photographs of monks making their rolls of paper were provided by Tōdaiji.
- Engagement with high school students to produce a report on their experience of making kamiko.
Selected Assets
These assets provide an overview of the project as described above.
Ohara Gakuen
Tōdaiji
Sayo High School
Acknowledgements
The following individuals were integral in the success of the project. Iara Sayo Inomata and Jake Nakashima-Edwards aided in checking translations, transcriptions, and metadata. Cameron Allan McKean supplied photographic and videographic expertise during interviews and fieldwork visits. And last but not least, Yano Takashi was an invaluable intermediary throughout the project, contacting members of the Tōdaiji temple, interviewing subjects and participants at Ōhara Gakuen, and managing relationships with Kaita Washi and Sayo High School.