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karachos karakami woodblock-printed paper
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karachos karakamiwoodblock-printed
paperhttp://www.karacho.co.jp
established in kyoto in 1624, karacho is japan's onlykarakami
maker (woodblock-printed paper).still in operation today, the
karacho workshop has been
directed by members of the senda family for
12generations,preserving a japanese tradition. the sendas are
thecustodians of 650 hand-carved wooden blocks, madeoverthe
centuries and they still use them to produce thekarakami paper for
which karacho is world famous.some blocks are more than 200 years
old - the oldest(with a checkered pattern of chrysanthemums),
datesbackto 1792. when the residential quarter of the
karachostudioburned down in the 1864 hamaguri gomon incident,the
woodblocks were placed in a wash- tub of water in
a storehouse with earthen walls. to protect the blocksfrom fire,
craftsmen kept pouring water on them. such aclose encounter with
destruction has ensured that thesurviving woodblocks are treated as
a treasure.the senda family still produces karakami for templesand
other traditional places in japan. additionally theyproduce on
demand for architects (kengo kuma is amongthem). while
western-style housing increasingly is favoredby many japanese,
there is also a growing numberof people who want to decorate parts
of their homes withtraditional karakami patterns.
karakami patternsthe technique has remained virtually unchanged
for morethan 400 years: karakami is produced by pressing
pigmentonto paper using patterned wooden blocks. the
patternsshow the strong artistic influence of the rimpa school
ofpainting, as the studio was used by artist honami
koetsu(1558-1637), one of the founders of the school.the meditative
designs combine subtle colors with apattern of freedom and life
force. nature provides thespiritof invention and discovery that
inspires the ornaments ofall the patterns. with the rise of popular
culture in theedo period (1603-1868), the karacho woodblock
printsbecame a major artform and its technique was fine tunedto
produce hand-made prints used to decorate slidingdoors,
walls and single-leafscreens. karakami woodblock printsalso had
an important influence on 18th-centuryeuropeanwallpapers textile
patterns and patterns on book covers.further on we will examine the
production of karakami(see page 2).
fusama doorsonce, the space under the roof of a japanese house
waspartitioned with screens into several spaces.
thesemovablescreens were eventually fixed into the wood frame
andbecame sliding fusama doors. fusuma doors are used asmovable
walls, so when people host large gatherings inthehouse the panels
can be removed to make one largespace.originally several sheets of
paper, in sets of 5, 10, or 12,were required to cover a fusama
door, at the end oftaishoperiod (1912 - 1926), techniques were
successfullydeveloped to make large single sheets that werefusama
size. the nobility were first to use karakamipaperon fusama doors
their preference was for patterns basedontheir family crests and
which reflected their court rankingand status. the majority of the
patterns are combinationsof
flowers and plants such as chrysanthemum, bamboo,maple,and pine
with geometric designs of diamonds, squares,tortoise-shell motifs,
circles, crisscrossing lines and wavepatterns. other popular
motives include cranes andclouds.the senda family also repair
sliding doors at historicalsitessuch as katsura rikyu (see page
3).
tea ceremonykarakami paper was used for the interior of
tearooms.many leading ceremony schools designed their own
patterns. their taste lead more towards patterns of plantsthan
abstract motifs. karachos stock of woodblocksincludea large number
with tea-related patterns. among themostfamous are patterns favored
by the ura and omokesenkeschools of tea ceremony.
page 2
see the process of making karakami
page 3
karakami inside katsura rikyu,the katsura imperial villa
design-aerobics coursesthis is an example of a design-aerobics
lessonfrom the 'paper' course - part of our 'materials cycle'.--
-design-aerobics are 'online design education courses'.ideated and
managed by the designboom team.find out how the courses work
here
massimo mini (designboom) visiting karacho. - meeting up with
koh kado in front oftheentrance of the karacho shop in shugakuin,
kyoto, japan.
woodblocks
detail of wave pattern on woodblock
detail of clouds pattern on woodblock
kenkichi senda, the master craftsman and eleventh-generation
head of karachostudio,is showing a sheet of paper with big wave
patterns called korin onami.
the blocks are sorted according to the number required to print
one fusama
the original woodblocks were carved by craftsmen almost 400
years ago.most of the blocks are made ofeasy-to-carve honoki wood,
which has a fine, softgrainand rarely warps or cracks.
karakami expert wakoku shoshoku etsukushi (1685)
all images designboom
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