Nara paper

This miscellaneous paper was made in the foothills of southern Nara Prefecture. It is a thin, soft paper made from paper mulberry, and was widely used by the upper classes of Kyoto from the early Muromachi period (15th century). It is called "yawayawa" in ladies' language, and often appears in diaries of the time. The names of places of origin such as Koda-no-sho, Yanagiwara, Jusango, and Goino-sho can be found in documents, and it was inexpensive, costing about 50 mon per bundle (10 sheets), and like calligraphy paper, it became a necessity for the common people in the early modern period.

[Machida Masayuki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

奈良県南方の山麓(さんろく)地帯で漉(す)かれた雑用紙。コウゾ（楮）を原料とした薄くて柔らかな紙で、室町時代初期（15世紀）から京都の上層社会で広く使われた。女房詞(ことば)で「やわやわ」とよばれ、当時の日記類によく出てくる。興田庄(こうだのしょう)、柳原(やなぎわら)、十三郷、五位庄(ごいのしょう)などの産地名が文献にみられ、値段も一束(いっそく)（10帖(じょう)）が約50文と安く、半紙と同様近世には庶民生活の必需品となった。

［町田誠之］

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