- Washi (Japanese paper) is used for every conceivable purpose in Japan where more handmade paper is produced than in any other country. During the Edo period, it was the second greatest source of tax income for the government. Women make much of this paper, often from a family or village paper mill. Their wage is much less than men’s, and Page 279 →if they work for their husbands, it is unpaid. Here a woman is dipping hanshi, a common paper. Behind her are stacks of molded sheets, and to her left is water kept on the boil to warm her hands.
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