HORIKI ERIKO

“That’s not real washi. That’s not traditional.” Or so I’ve been chided by washi makers since I was twenty-four, when I founded this company in an effort to explore new methods of creating washi. Those words inspired me as I left my job as a banker for an office position with a washi maker, then independently studied to build my future in handmade washi, and finally started to see my creations reach the world - at every step, questioning the nature of tradition as I carefully considered the right path forward.

Thinking back to the origins prior to 1300 years ago, washi must have initially been considered quite innovative. Those revolutionary techniques, over decades and centuries, were helped to evolve as they passed down through the hands of countless artisans until it arrived in the present day as “tradition.” That is, innovation and tradition are not opposing forces; I came to the crucial realization that tradition itself is the evolutionary result of hundreds of years of working with innovative techniques.

At that point, I thought of equipping craftsmen of Echizen washi, already possessing a vast trove of traditional techniques, with modern appurtenances and technology, working toward linking tradition with the future. We then added our own original technology to the mix in an independent Kyoto atelier setting, thus cultivating our revolutionary approach as the tradition of the future. We saw these as staking out our two directions. From the perspective of traditional production, even if the goals of directing oneself toward becoming the tradition of the future or toward the revolutionization of tradition are not entirely met, it nevertheless represents an advancement.

Through the over thirty years that I’ve been on this quest for beauty, I have come to appreciate all the more the importance of striving for technological innovation. As technology and expressive methods have broken free from rigid concepts to explore new paths, it is precisely when we grapple with impossibilities and impasses that tradition extends into the future. My desire is to continue creating washi that will meet the demands of the era while transcending time and resonating in the heart.