The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-12-20

prepared by Joseph w. Ballantlne, !
Student Interpreter, American EN-
bassy, Tokio)
Next to cotton spinning, the produc-
lion of paper is Japans greatest in
dustry. Centuries before occidental
learned to manufacture paper
from rags it was being made in China
from actual fbers From China this
art was carried to Europe through
central Asia by the Arabs. 1t is true
that the Egyptians are considered to|
have been the first paper makers, but
their papyrus was not real paper, but
merely the peeled bark of reeds grow
ing on the banks of the Nile
The material for making paper first
employed by the Chinese was the So
called paper mulberry bush (Brous-
sonteai papyriferia), which is known
as kozu in Japan. Besides this, the
Japanese use the ganpi (Wikstraemia
ganpi, which grows in the mountains
of Shikoku, a large island southwest
of Kobe and in the central part Of
the main island. The Procedures of
KOCH, Chime, and Kagawa, on Shiko-
ku and Gifu, on the main island, north
of the city of Nagoya, lead in paper
production. These regions are all
within the sphere of the Kobe consul
late. Another plant of no less i'm
portance as a material for pulp is the
mtsumata (Edgeworthia papyrifera).
Modern Mils-"European" Paper.
The value of the annual production
of Japanese machine-equipped mills is
about $I5OOOOO, and that of hand
mills reaches 100000 In 1909,
there were twenty-seven factories
with 1S2 machines for the production
of European" paper in operation in
Japan, and these had total of 6,4S6
employees. The quantity of European
paper produced by these mills in 1909
amounted to 123,947 short tons.
AS a result of the erection at To
makomai, on Hokushu Island, of a
newspaper factory whose daily output
is siXty-fve tons, the amount of ma
chine-made paper has recently shown
a remarkable increase. This mill is
the largest of its kind in Japan, and
is financed by the Mitsui Bussan Kai-
sha, the leading Japanese mercantile
house. The large quantity of paper
which it produces is chiefly exported
to India, Australia, and China by the
same company. An American was
engaged to superintend the erection
and starting of the machines in this
mill His success induced the compG-
ny to engage him further in reorgan-
izing other mills which it owns in cen.
trail Japan, 1t was also an American
who built organized, and ran success
fully for many years a paper mill at
Takasago for the Mitsu Bishi Kaisha.
Although native paper has been
made from ancient times. it was not
until 1872 that the manufacture of Eu.
ropean paper was commenced. In
that year the Oil paper mill was es
tablished, which uses rice straw, rags
and waste paper. Soon afterwards
factories were established in other
parts of the country. After the Saigo
rebellion in 1877, a great demand was
created for European paper by the
rapid adoption of printing in Japan
Printing paper is the most important
kind manufactured, and it's total an
nual value is $3,2O2,OOO. The next in
Importance is cardboard, with a total
value of $GO5,OOO. Whereas native ma
per is manufactured mainly with hand
machines in rural districts affordine
an abundant supply of pulp, European
paper is manufactured in large cities
like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe
Handmade Paper-PuIp Imports.
Handmade paper is produced prin.
cipally by farmers as a secondary oc.
cupation which they can pursue in
seasons where there is nothing to be
done in the fields. There are no less
than 10000 families engaged in this
industry. Japan has been quick in
utilizing to the utmost it's assets in
bringing the manufacture of hand
made paper to a high modern stan
dard. In the districts where this pa,
per is made there are experiment bu-
reaus equipped with up-to-date instru.
ments and apparatus for testing and
selecting the various kinds of raw ma
terial, not only the indigenous Japan
csc plants but also imported ffbers
Cooperation is the secret of sue
cess of the handmade paper industry.
In every manufacturing district there
are guilds which supply the farmers
with raw material and find markets
for their product, Experiments have
proved that imported wood fiber may
be substituted without detriment in
certain kinds of paper for the high
priced native fibers.
The United States is not a large ey-