Subject: Japanese oiled paper rain clothing
**** Moderator's comments: This query comes from a person who is not on the DistList and will not see any responses that are posted here. Please respond directly to sender and if of general interest post it here as well I am a MA Paper Conservation student at the Camberwell College of Arts. Presently I am working on the conservation of a Japanese oiled paper "raincape". It belongs to the Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge. It dates c.1929 and has a label attached describing it as a "raincape" but its make up comprises of sheets of oiled Japanese paper joined/overlapped to form a rectangular sheet. It has two strings whereby one is to tie the "garment" to oneself. However, I am having difficulty in finding out information about the history and manufacture of these objects. I would be extremely grateful if someone could possibly recommend any books or articles which mention anything at all about the history, manufacture or conservation of Japanese oiled papers or Japanese oiled paper rain clothes? Any other information about Japanese oiled papers or Japanese oiled paper clothes would be most welcome. From what I have already learnt it is suggested that a number of water-proofing agents could have been used including Ye-no-abura/ Perilla oil (Celtis Willdenawiana) or Paulownia seed oil or a paste made from arum root (Konnyaku paste) then over this a layer of Persimmon extract/juice was pasted or Asami oil. I have been lucky to receive some information from Hidetoshi Komiya, Head Curator of the Paper Museum in Tokyo, Japan, but if there is anyone else that could be recommended for me to contact, please let me know. Melanie Li Green 45 Worfield Street London SW11 4QZ Fax: +44 171 738 9435 *** Conservation DistList Instance 11:78 Distributed: Thursday, March 19, 1998 Message Id: cdl-11-78-016 ***Received on Thursday, 19 March, 1998