Paper shop paper

Washi paper made at Kamiya-in. Originally it referred to paper made at the Zushoryō Shiokuin in the Library Bureau, and first appeared in the Shōsōin documents of 728 (Jinki 5). However, after Kamiya-in was expanded and established to the east of Nonomiya in Kyoto during the Daidō era (806-810) of Emperor Saga in the Heian period, it became the general name for the high-quality paper made there. It was highly praised among the upper class aristocrats as a superior, beautiful, plump paper that surpassed karakami paper imported from China. It is often praised in court literature. The reputation of Kamiya paper continued for nearly four centuries, but at the end of the Heian period, the authority of the nobility declined, and as the Kamiya-in institution fell into disuse, the quality of the paper also declined, and as superior local papers such as Michinokugami came into circulation, the paper eventually became synonymous with the recycling of waste paper, or shukushi. The river that flows near Kamiya-in is called Kamiyagawa River, and the tradition of papermaking continues along the river, but from the Edo period through to the Meiji period, Nishinotouin paper and other types of tissue paper were actively produced.

[Machida Masayuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

紙屋院(かみやいん)で漉(す)き出された和紙。もとは図書寮紙屋院(ずしょりょうしおくいん)で漉かれた紙を示し、728年（神亀5）の『正倉院文書』に初出するが、平安時代の嵯峨(さが)天皇の大同(だいどう)年間（806～810）に京都の野宮(ののみや)の東方へ紙屋院が拡充設立されてからは、そこで漉かれる上質な紙の一般名となった。中国から輸入された唐紙(からかみ)をしのぐ優秀な、麗しい、ふくよかな紙として、上流貴族の間でもてはやされた。王朝文学のなかにしばしばその賛辞がみられる。紙屋紙の声価はおよそ4世紀近く続くが、平安時代末期に貴族の権威が低下し、紙屋院の機構が衰退するとともにその紙質も低下し、陸奥紙(みちのくがみ)などの優れた地方産紙が出回るにつれ、ついに故紙の再生、すなわち宿紙(しゅくし)の代名詞のようになった。紙屋院のそばを流れる川は紙屋川とよばれ、紙漉きの伝統は川に沿って続くが、江戸時代から明治にかけては西洞院紙(にしのとういんがみ)などのちり紙が盛んに生産された。

［町田誠之］

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