{"id":9855,"date":"2015-07-28T01:00:57","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T05:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/?p=9855"},"modified":"2025-09-15T15:47:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T19:47:32","slug":"conservation-conversations-japanese-papers-and-tissues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/28\/conservation-conversations-japanese-papers-and-tissues\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Japanese Papers and Tissues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese papers and tissues are used extensively in book and paper conservation; they are used to mend tears, fill losses, back or line weak or brittle papers, line spines and perform innumerable other conservation repairs. These papers originated in Japan (as I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve guessed) and are mostly made from kozo fibers from the paper mulberry tree. They come in a variety of thicknesses for different needs, and some are thin enough to be translucent and are ideal for mending over text or images. Japanese papers are soft and flexible and do not become brittle or discolored over time so they are especially appropriate for conservation. But the most important trait of Japanese tissue is its strength – due to the long kozo fibers these papers are very strong. Deceptively strong. Even the thinnest tissues are useful for mending tears and lining brittle pages, often times creating almost invisible repairs.<\/p>\n

I was introduced to Japanese papers at my first conservation internship during college. I spent the summer repairing larger-than-life stained glass window templates by Rudolf Buenz at the Winterthur Museum<\/a> in Delaware. The sketches had been kept rolled up in a garage since the 1960s and their edges were crushed and tattered.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

We used a lot of tissue that summer. A LOT.<\/p><\/div>\n

My internship advisor, knowing that if we kept on the conservation track Japanese tissue would become our lifeblood, had us make a sample book of all of the lab\u2019s tissues. Being a very well stocked lab, there are 15 papers in my original sample book. This may sound like a nothing task and at the time it didn\u2019t feel that I was doing something very important, but in all honesty I still consult this book today.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

As a side note, this was the first book I ever made<\/p><\/div>\n

\"IMG_3687\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I think all conservators have their favorite go-to tissues, two or three different weights that we use for different tasks. But sometimes when you\u2019re faced with a different type of challenge it\u2019s good to have all of your options at hand, right in front of you in a little booklet, where you can feel the weight, texture and color of each and choose the one that\u2019s best for your task. Whenever I encounter a new tissue I take a small sample and label it (seriously, don\u2019t forget to label it, otherwise it\u2019s useless) and add it to my collection \u2013 it\u2019s one of the best tips I can give to any new conservation student.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japanese papers and tissues are used extensively in book and paper conservation; they are used to mend tears, fill losses, back or line weak or brittle papers, line spines and perform innumerable other conservation repairs. These papers originated in Japan (as I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve guessed) and are mostly made from kozo fibers from the paper […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1353],"tags":[1495,1884,1844],"class_list":["post-9855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation","tag-becky-koch","tag-conservation","tag-japanese-tissue"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Btis-2yX","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9909,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/07\/conservation-conversations-so-many-papers\/","url_meta":{"origin":9855,"position":0},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Choosing the Right Repair Paper","author":"Becky Koch","date":"August 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In my last post I talked about how many papers are out there for conservators to choose from. It\u2019s great to have so many options, but picking the right one for your situation can be a challenge, the options are often overwhelming. When making a mend, there are several considerations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Different colors of Japanese tissue","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_3740-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_3740-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_3740-300x225.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9054,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/18\/conservation-conversations-a-bit-on-paper-mends\/","url_meta":{"origin":9855,"position":1},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ A Bit on Paper Mends","author":"Marianna Brotherton","date":"January 18, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Book conservation is a field much like any other; the more we know, the more we learn just how much we don't know. Specialization is our\u00a0attempt to foil this conundrum by focusing\u00a0our view, and therefore narrowing\u00a0the\u00a0range of potential \"know-ables.\" In conservation this can come in the form of \"parchment specialist\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_2785","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/IMG_2785-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8293,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/29\/conservation-conversations-su-su\/","url_meta":{"origin":9855,"position":2},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Su-Su","author":"Lauren Schott","date":"July 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Everyone who washes paper is familiar with the dramatic color transformation that takes place on the page after it is removed from its final bath. The evidence is left in the washing tanks; the water turns an unsavory yellowed color, and the paper is, to a degree, returned to its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "conservation"","block_context":{"text":"conservation","link":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/category\/conservation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/SuSu8-LaurenSchott.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/SuSu8-LaurenSchott.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/SuSu8-LaurenSchott.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/SuSu8-LaurenSchott.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8781,"url":"https:\/\/www.herringbonebindery.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/15\/conservation-conversations-another-look-at-su-su\/","url_meta":{"origin":9855,"position":3},"title":"Conservation Conversations \/\/ Another Look at Su-Su","author":"Erin Fletcher","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this year, as part of the Conservation Conversations column, Lauren Schott wrote an article on su-su, which highlighted the steps to creating this alternative matter for toning materials as part of the conservation treatment. 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