Shifu (紙布, 'paper cloth'); kamiko (紙衣/紙子, 'paper garment')
Two textiles made from washi in Shiroishi, Miyagi Prefecture. For shifu, fine, strong paper is cut into strips, rolled on a stone, separated, twisted into thread and woven into cloth, sometimes all-paper and sometimes with a silk or cotton warp. For kamiko, whole sheets are brushed twice with glue made from konnyaku powder, dried for strength, then rubbed soft and sewn into garments. Both were worn in the Edo period by farmers, Buddhist priests and samurai, and fine samurai-made shifu was presented to the shogun and feudal lords. Industrialization and the loss of hand papermakers pushed both to the edge; only a few papermakers can still supply paper fine enough.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not inscribed
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