How to Care for Your Wagasa
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 plant oils.
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.
Daily Care
Almost nothing required.
Dust can be removed with a soft brush, working gently along the ribs rather than across them.
For light marks, use a clean, entirely dry cloth.
Do not use water, detergent, alcohol, or abrasive materials.
These will damage the surface of the washi and break down the natural plant-oil layer that gives it its character.
The Change
Ageing is part of it.
The change over time is a distinct characteristic, unique entirely to the Kohaku-unryu.
As the years pass, the washi will shift from its original white toward a pale amber. This is the natural plant oils gently oxidising — the same organic process that makes antique varnish deepen, that gives aged linen its warmth.
In the world of wagasa-making, this is not deterioration, but the quiet completion of the object.
Exclusive to this specific edition, the colour it casts into a room becomes warmer, and the shadow it throws becomes softer. Time itself is an ingredient in what you are looking at.
