I have recently had the opportunity to meet with some different artists from Holland, Belgium, Germany, and Thailand. They all studied Japanese Woodblock Printmaking, took their knowledge back to their home countries and opened studios where they have become teachers of Japanese Woodblock Printmaking. I am deeply moved whenever I think about these people continuing on the legacy that is Japanese art, using washi and trying their best.
On the one hand, for the artists it is difficult to get the correct information about Japanese paper. Also, it’s difficult to obtain 100% matched paper that they want as there is no clear communication. That’s why we try to produce papers—as many as possible—even those which are not so close for various types of artworks.
It is very difficult to find a lot of different paper that they like because they don’t know so much about Japanese paper, so they cannot communicate well to find the right paper. I feel sorry because they love Japanese paper but they cannot ever get what they really desire sometimes.
