NAJIO - 002 - PILLAR STOOL
MATERIAL MDF, WASHI, SHELLAC VARNISH
DIMENSHIONS 760W 400D 600H
Najio was once a town thriving in the production of traditional Japanese paper (washi).
After the Meiji period, the demand for washi gradually declined, and it is said that only two paper mills remain in Najio today.
This stool (which can also be used as a low table) is made using ganpishi (paper made from the ganpi plant) from the Tanitoku Paper Mill in Najio. It’s a thin, smooth, and very durable type of washi. The characteristic feature of Najio washi is the mixing of Najio’s native clay into the paper.
The basic colors of Najio washi are four: white (Higashikubo clay), blue (Kabuta clay), yellow (Amako clay), and brown (Jadomame clay). Additionally, there is a fifth color, white-brown (a mix of Higashikubo clay and Amako clay), as well as intermediate tones created by blending white clay and yellow clay.
For this piece, we chose white clay.
By mixing in the clay, the paper becomes more resistant to tearing, water, and sun exposure, while also gaining a distinctive color and a matte sheen.
Traditionally, this washi has been used for fusuma (sliding doors) and other decorative applications. In this case, it is dyed black using persimmon tannin and iron mordant, then layered with multiple coats of shellac polish applied through a technique called French polishing.
As the shellac penetrates the gaps between the paper fibers, the gradations of the fibers and clay emerge.
Handmade washi may appear uniform, but it is never completely so. It has a certain charm, like a hand-drawn straight line.
名塩はかつて和紙作りが盛んな町だった。
明治以降、和紙の需要が減って行き、現在残る名塩の製紙所は2軒あるのみだという。
このスツール(ローテーブルでもいい)は名塩の谷徳製紙所の雁皮紙を使っている。薄く肌触りが滑らかでとても丈夫な和紙だ。名塩和紙の特徴は名塩産の泥土を混ぜるところにある。
白（東久保土）、青（カブタ土）、黄（尼子土）、茶（蛇豆土）以上四色と白土と黄土を混ぜた中間色、白茶（東久保土＋尼子土）を加えた五色が名塩和紙の基本の色だという。
今回は白土を選んだ。
泥を混ぜることで破れにくく水や日焼けに強い紙となり、また独特の色味とマットな艶感を生み出す。
古くから襖や表具などに使われてきたこの和紙を柿渋と鉃媒染で黒染めしたのち、シェラックニスを磨きながら何層も塗り重ねる。フレンチポリッシュと呼ばれる磨き方だ。
紙の繊維と繊維の隙間にシェラックが浸透していく過程で、繊維や泥の濃淡が浮き出てくる。
手漉きの和紙は均一なようで、完全に均一ではない。そこにはフリーハンド引いた直線のような味わいがある。