He traveled with me to translate, answer my questions, make introductions, teach me proper protocol, and reserve trains and hotels. We became very close friends and still are. Sumio Suzuki lives in Yugashima-machi outside the city of Izu in Shizuoka prefecture on the Izu Peninsula. Sumio is a traditional hand papermaker, making sheets of washi mainly with kozo fiber. He makes washi for a variety of uses and also makes small craft items such as animal masks with kozo pulp. He grows his own kozo and tororo-aoi. He learned his craft during a five-year papermaking pilgrimage across Japan. Sumio is also a graduate of Meiji University, where he studied historical archeology. Because of his keen interest in the history and makers of washi, I knew that he would be able to suggest something wonderful for the Storytelling issue of Hand Papermaking. The Ōshū Shiroishi Papermaking Song is a work song that was created in Shiroishi city in Miyagi prefecture, where a high-quality handmade paper called Shiroishi washi is produced.2 Ōshū (also known as Mutsu) is the old provincial name for Japan's northern Honshū prefectures including Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Aomori.3 Shiroishi Papermaking Song from Japan margaret prentice, with sumio suzuki Album cover of 45-rpm recording of Shiroishiwashi Papermaking Song, released by Victor Recordings in 1976. Pictured is Shiroishiwashi papermaker Tadao Endo, at the vat. Liner notes includes annotated lyrics, and instructions with photos for accompanying dance movements. Courtesy of Sumio Suzuki. below: Oil painting by author Margaret Prentice of co-author Sumio Suzuki steaming kozo, 2013, 16 x 12 inches. Courtesy of Margaret Prentice. summer 2014 - 33 Sumio explained that in the eleventh-century Heian period, a paper called Michinoku-gami was highly appreciated by the Kyoto aristocracy. It is believed that Shiroishi is one of the places where Michinoku-gami was made at that time. Papermaking in Shiroishi declined, but in 1931, Tadao Endo, who was 18 years old at the time, started a papermaking studio with the aim to revive this tradition of papermaking. He died at the age of 57 in 1997. Shortly before he died, he created this work song that portrays the process of papermaking with humor. The song consists of 26 verses, divided into four parts. The first part is about cultivating raw materials for washi, namely kozo, and the different varieties of kozo. The second part describes the process of harvesting, steaming, and scraping the kozo to arrive at the white inner bark. The third section is about cooking, bleaching, beating, sheet forming, and drying. The fourth part introduces types and uses of products made with washi. At 26 verses, the song is quite long, so Sumio transcribed four representative verses. Below are the four verses in Japanese, in romanized Japanese, and a line-by-line English translation. In addition to transcribing the four verses, Sumio provided enlightening commentary on each verse. verse 1: In early spring, soil is moved aside from the parent stumps in the kozo field, allowing the new shoots to sprout well. In the summer, soil is hilled up around the kozo stumps to protect the shoots. Throughout the summer the stems grow, so that in the fall, the trunks become thick and the shoots are fully mature. Then the papermaker waits to harvest the stems until after the winter solstice when there is a pause in growth. verse 2: Ribbons of smoke rise up into the cold, snowy morning sky from the kozo steamer-cauldron. Soon, white steam bil- lows up, and the sweet smell of steamed kozo stems fills the air. Now it is ready to strip the bark! verse 3: Mainly men make the paper, but it's the women who really do it best. Young women stand in front of the papermaking vat filled with pulp and water, and, with hair tied back, look at their reflection on the creamy, still surface of the vat as if it is a mirror. verse 4: In haiku poetry, "papermaking" is a seasonal word that signifies winter. Long ago, tororo-aoi could not be stored past winter, so papermaking was best done in the cold winter season by farmers who made paper as an off-season cash crop. Papermaking continues from early in the morning to late at night. The light in the paper workshop can be seen, while flakes of powder snow dance all night long. Someone is making paper. Following the dying wish of the late Tadao Endo, his wife (90 years old) is now running the studio. The studio's output is very limited, but well respected. Shiroishiwashi was used to record the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed September 2, 1945, on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri, in Tokyo Bay, marking the end of World War II. Since the mid-70s, Shiroishiwashi has been used by Nara's famed Todaiji Temple for omizutori (an annual Buddhist ceremony). The monks wear paper kimono made of Shiroishiwashi. Paper clothing, kamiko, is preferred because it avoids killing silkworms and does not require hiring women for weaving fiber into cloth.   ___________ notes 1. Japanese names are given in first name, last name order. 2. Correspondence from Sumio Suzuki to Margaret Prentice, August 28, 2013. Translated by Satoko Motouji, with additional clarifications by Mina Takahashi, with kind assistance of Ami Takahashi and Mineko Kawada. 3. "Mutsu Province," Wikipedia, last modified September 5, 2013, http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutsu_Province. 奥州白石紙すき唄 春は裸で 夏綿入れで 秋に肥らせ 冬に採る、冬に採る 雪の朝だに 煙があがる こうぞ蒸けたか 湯気が立つ、湯気が立つ １８ごろから紙漉き習うた 歳もゆかぬに 紙槽鏡、紙槽鏡 粉雪さらさら紙屋のあかり 何を漉いてか 夜もすがら、夜もすがら Ōshū Shiroishi Kamisuki Uta Haru wa hadaka de Natsu wataire de Aki ni futorase Fuyu ni toru, fuyu ni toru Yuki no asada ni Kemuri ga agaru Kōzo fuketa ka Yuge ga tatsu, yuge ga tatsu Ju-hachi goro kara kamisuki narauta Toshi mo yukanu ni Funakagami, funakagami Konayuki sarasara kamiya no akari Nani o suite ka? Yomosugara, yomosugara. Ōshū Shiroishi Papermaking Song Naked in spring Putting on cotton in summer Getting fat in fall Harvest in winter, harvest in winter On snowy mornings Smoke rises Is the kozo ready? Steam goes up, steam goes up Learned papermaking from around the age of 18 Young and fresh Papermaking vat as mirror, Papermaking vat as mirror Powder snow steadily falls, there is a light in the papermaking studio What is being made? All night long, all night long

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