What an exciting discovery we made this trip. We found a “new” paper resource – new to us because it has been there for centuries – actually since 1836. 
We have been to this area of Tokyo on at least four occasions and have walked right by this store every time. What a blessing we found. My husband wanted to look at the window display on the alley portion of the shop, which I remember we have done before…this time I looked past the display and gasped! 
The young woman you see sitting behind the counter in the yellow kimono is the daughter who seems to own the shop with her mother. It was the mother who waited on me. They take credit cards with a 3000 yen minimum order, about $30-35 dollars depending upon the exchange rate. Everyone was very helpful, and let me gather my selections into a pile and set them aside while I continued shopping. As I shopped my pile got bigger and bigger. They have an entire section of handmade Japanese paper, including the crinkle kind.
Crinkle, what is that? Osaka and portions of Japan are known not only for their handmade papers, but for the technique of crinkling. It is a process of making millions of miniscule folds in the completed sheet of paper to create a fabric like effect or look to the sheet. 
When you hold a piece of this crinkled paper up, it is pliable and bends like fabric. It can cost between $50-$1000 to have a piece of japanese paper crinkled, as the technique is very time-consuming. The shot you see here are a couple of samples we purchased in this store that highlight the technique. I’m not sure you can see it, but each piece has folds to give it texture and shape. As a result, the overall design shrinks or becomes more compact. It is very beautiful and gives each piece of paper a completely different appearance and sheen.
Inside this store (remember photos are not allowed inside) there is a small corner where rows and rows of handmade paper bolts are lined up like fabric bolts in a craft store. Underneath bolts are drawers and shelves where they sell smaller pieces or samples of the larger sheets. This is nice because I was able to buy a much larger variety of paper in smaller sizes to get the different patterns I had not seen before. Needless to say my pile of paper purchases grew rather large. After the mother rolled them into a neat package, she then gave me a small token of handmade stationery as a thank you gift for my purchase.
As I was leaving I gave the mother my business card. I told her I was an artist from the United States and would use the papers in my art. She then gave the card to the daughter who spoke perfect English. I had a wonderful conversation with her about my work and told her I would send her a couple photos of my work that utilized the papers I bought in her store.
If you are in this area of Tokyo, checking out the large paper lantern at the shrine, make this store a definite stop on your journey. Not only do they have a beautiful handmade paper selection, they carry wood block prints by local artists, stationery, and amazing banners/wall hangings with uniquely Japanese designs. It has very reasonable prices and a wonderful staff that speak English amazingly. Next time we are in Tokyo, we will go back…there are several papers and wall hangings that haunt me even as I write this post.
Ann Art Gallery Blog 