High standards: Clean, cold well water flows through the workshop. Here, Hagi Suzuki and Mariko Furuta perform the task of removing dirt from bark strips. Not even the slightest impurity can remain if Honmino-shi is to meet expectations. | MASASHI KUMA
The person primarily responsible for running this kōbō workshop in Mino, Gifu Prefecture, is Toyomi Suzuki, who, after her marriage, learned the art of papermaking from her father-in-law, Takeichi. She starts work early every morning, making around 100 sheets per day. "I'm constantly thinking that the next sheet I make will be even better than the last," she says.
Rinse and repeat: Practiced hands immerse each strip of white bark in water, removing dirt and damaged sections. | MASASHI KUMA
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