Chigiri-e
Encyclopedia
is a technique using coloured paper
torn to create images (which often give an effect of water colour). The technique dates from the Heian period
of Japanese history
when it was often used in conjunction with calligraphy. Hand-made paper is essential for the creation of chigiri-e images.
. Poems
were written on a background of either plain or decorated coloured paper (see the textural passages of the Genji scrolls). In the 11th century calligraphy paper was usually white or light blue: it could be decorated and coloured and then mounted onto a support.
Chigiri-e has become a popular art form. It can be used to create either realistic images or more abstract ones. Its use in Japan is often decorative, using flowers and landscapes as subject matter. The paper may be coloured by the craftsman paper-maker but many artists colour the paper themselves, using vegetable dyes, coloured inks or powder pigments. The paper most often used is Tengujoshi, a hand-made, long-fibered, very light weight paper (0.03 millimetres thickness).
The craft of paper-making had almost disappeared until, in the early 1900s, a craftsman developed Tengujoshi, one of the strongest and finest papers currently made. The craft takes three years to learn. This paper, due to its strength, transparency and lightness, is also used for repairing and restoring paintings and other art works. The paper can be made in any range of colors, or may be uncolored. Although very light weight its long fibres assure its strength. It is made with 100% mulberry
and is sifted through bamboo boards woven with a layer of silk
, only about 100 sheets may be produced in one day. There is also a less-labour intensive machine-made version of Tengujo paper.
patterns and themes and are often used in woodblock
techniques to achieve them (grasses, bamboo, water). These themes are still used. Colorful collages
could be made with torn (chigiri-e) or cut (kiri-e) paper. Some were further decorated with colour pigments or metallic dust. This provides the under-drawing for aristocratic calligraphy. The combination of texture and transparency results in a characteristic richness of colour. "Colour names and layered colours are woven throughout Heian poetry and literature. The use of layered colour is also found in clothing in this period. In many collage techniques found images are used but in chigiri-e the torn paper itself is used to create images.
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
torn to create images (which often give an effect of water colour). The technique dates from the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
of Japanese history
History of Japan
The history of Japan encompasses the history of the islands of Japan and the Japanese people, spanning the ancient history of the region to the modern history of Japan as a nation state. Following the last ice age, around 12,000 BC, the rich ecosystem of the Japanese Archipelago fostered human...
when it was often used in conjunction with calligraphy. Hand-made paper is essential for the creation of chigiri-e images.
History
In Japan's Heian period chigiri-e was used in conjunction with calligraphyJapanese calligraphy
is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language. For a long time, the most esteemed calligrapher in Japan had been Wang Xizhi, a Chinese calligrapher in the 4th century but after the invention of Hiragana and Katakana, the Japanese unique syllabaries, the distinctive...
. Poems
Japanese poetry
Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...
were written on a background of either plain or decorated coloured paper (see the textural passages of the Genji scrolls). In the 11th century calligraphy paper was usually white or light blue: it could be decorated and coloured and then mounted onto a support.
Chigiri-e has become a popular art form. It can be used to create either realistic images or more abstract ones. Its use in Japan is often decorative, using flowers and landscapes as subject matter. The paper may be coloured by the craftsman paper-maker but many artists colour the paper themselves, using vegetable dyes, coloured inks or powder pigments. The paper most often used is Tengujoshi, a hand-made, long-fibered, very light weight paper (0.03 millimetres thickness).
The craft of paper-making had almost disappeared until, in the early 1900s, a craftsman developed Tengujoshi, one of the strongest and finest papers currently made. The craft takes three years to learn. This paper, due to its strength, transparency and lightness, is also used for repairing and restoring paintings and other art works. The paper can be made in any range of colors, or may be uncolored. Although very light weight its long fibres assure its strength. It is made with 100% mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
and is sifted through bamboo boards woven with a layer of silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, only about 100 sheets may be produced in one day. There is also a less-labour intensive machine-made version of Tengujo paper.
Themes
Traditionally Heian calligraphy backgrounds incorporated ChineseChinese art
Chinese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers. Early so-called "stone age art" dates back to 10,000 BC, mostly consisting of simple pottery and sculptures. This early period was followed by a series of art...
patterns and themes and are often used in woodblock
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
techniques to achieve them (grasses, bamboo, water). These themes are still used. Colorful collages
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
could be made with torn (chigiri-e) or cut (kiri-e) paper. Some were further decorated with colour pigments or metallic dust. This provides the under-drawing for aristocratic calligraphy. The combination of texture and transparency results in a characteristic richness of colour. "Colour names and layered colours are woven throughout Heian poetry and literature. The use of layered colour is also found in clothing in this period. In many collage techniques found images are used but in chigiri-e the torn paper itself is used to create images.