How to Care for Your Wagasa
Displaying, maintaining, and storing a living object.
The answer is simpler than most people expect.
More durable than it looks.
Washi, bamboo, and natural oil. A wagasa made from these materials, kept in the right conditions, can last for decades — even generations.
Tsujikura has pieces in its atelier that have passed through several families.
To keep one well, no special products are needed.
Avoid three things: direct sunlight for extended periods, high humidity or extreme dryness, and forced air from air conditioning units blowing directly onto the surface.
Placement
Where to display it.
The most beautiful placement is also the safest one: a spot where natural light enters indirectly — beside rather than in front of a window, or in a corner that catches morning light without prolonged direct sun.
A north- or east-facing wall is ideal. In these spots, the washi catches the light without the bleaching effect of prolonged UV exposure. In the right light, the paper holds a faint luminosity — the bones visible as shadow from outside, the interior warmth visible from within.
A bedroom corner, the space beside a reading chair, a console table in an entrance hall — these are the rooms where a wagasa settles most naturally.
Materials it sits well beside: walnut, linen, unglazed ceramics, stone.
The entrance hall works well for occasional seasonal arrangements — shitsurai, in Japanese — but is not ideal for permanent display, as door openings create repeated humidity fluctuations.
Daily Care
Almost nothing required.
Dust can be removed with a soft brush, working along the ribs rather than across them. A barely damp cloth works for light marks.
Allow the surface to dry completely before returning the wagasa to its position.
Do not use detergent, alcohol, or abrasive materials.
These damage the surface of the washi and break down the oil layer that gives it its character.
If the wagasa is displayed open, closing it for a day or two each month reduces stress on the ribs over time.
Storage
The paulownia box.
When not on display, close the wagasa and return it to its paulownia box. KURAKURA's Hime-wagasa arrives in a custom kiri (paulownia) box — this is not decorative packaging.
Paulownia regulates humidity naturally and does not transfer odour. Use it.
Avoid storing in plastic containers or in spaces with poor ventilation. A wardrobe shelf with airflow is fine.
A sealed box in a humid cupboard is not.
The Change
Ageing is part of it.
Over time, the washi will shift from white toward a pale amber.
This is the linseed oil oxidising — the same process that makes antique varnish deepen, that gives aged linen its warmth.
In the world of wagasa-making, this is not deterioration.
It is called kareru: the quiet completion of the object.
The colour it casts into a room becomes warmer.
The shadow it throws becomes softer. Time is an ingredient in what you are looking at.
