Human network maker Hiroko kariya Representative of PAPER LABO Since 1990, she has annually held“Practical Paper Exhibition,” which is an event to introduce Tosa Washi widely to people. Living in Ino Town.
	Window of Interview: Date: July 25, 1996 Place: In a room surrounded by wood and paper of Mrs. Kariya's guest house. The room was remodeled from a warehouse. Mrs. Kariya plays a role of civil“ambassador”for people who visit Kochi looking for paper, and devotes herself to people-to people exchange. She loves Ino Town and Kochi, and keeps on dreaming about paper, standing on the intersection of paper network. Having a keen eye on the essence of things and being full of ideas, Mrs. Kariya enjoys her life as a citizen. She is a person who loves liberty by nature. What made you start PAPER LABO activity? I have been involved in it for 8 years. My friends and I who finished child raising wanted to start a work which has something to do with paper in the town of Ino. Tell me about your event“Practical Paper Exhibition.” At first, we went to sell the paper made in Ino and were always asked by people like,“Oh, this is a nice paper, but what's the usage of it?” To answer this question became our task. So, we planned this event and called to various people who seemed to be interested in paper such as artists and craftsmen to join our event. Do you have a different theme every year? Yes. Lighting, paper cloth, wrapping, housing and so on. Each time we looked for artists through our friends and acquaintances, and eventually our human network has been extended. The theme for the first exhibition was“Food, Clothing and Housing,”and there was a lot of suggestion like paper cloth, a paper pan, a paper lid, and a cutlery case made of Washi. Nowadays, we can hold an exhibition with works of artists living in Kochi alone. I have a strong desire to raise paper artists in Kochi and to produce unique goods which have local colors. In what field, would you like to develop products? I hope more and more paper will be used in houses. I think Shoji or a paper sliding door is a masterpiece in the usage of Washi. I believe the wonderfulness of Shoji will be reconsidered. I hope a simple and easy way to exchange Shoji paper will be introduced. I suppose it would be wonderful if all the windows of buildings were covered with blinds made of Washi. Whenever I go to town, I look at the windows wishing all those blinds were made of Washi. It will be nice if you can appeal such kind of things from Kochi. As is always said, the possibility of paper as a raw material lies in that man hasn't made full use of paper yet. That's a hope and we should desperately find out its usage. I feel sorry that high quality Kozo, which has grown only in the sun, water and earth of Kochi since old times, is dying in the mountains. Since papermakers came to use cheap Kozo produced in the Philippines or Thailand, the Kozo produced in Kochi has been greatly decreasing in number. If everyone of us makes a desperate effort to think out such way as requires little cost, I think mountains of Kochi will prosper with factories. Kozo processing factories. What is mainly practiced in the mountains is forestry, while growing Kozo is agriculture. In order to process raw materials into pulp, it will cost a lot of money to build facilities due to environmental protection in Japan. However, the idea that we can process materials cheaply in the factories in the Philippines because of generous regulations there is poor from a global point of view. By choosing that way, man has been suffering from big environmental problems so far. Time has come when we have to pay for it and now trees of the mountains in Ino Town are dying from acid rain. Washi never has nothing to do with such a big problem. The way people use paper in present society is terrible. It is important to enhance production of raw materials by increasing usage of non-wood paper like“Kenafu.” I hope Kochi will take the initiative in this field. My friends and I would like to play a role to go between papermakers and users, and tell papermakers what users want. If the paper requested by users is to be made actually, we would be very happy. Do you have any obstacle in dealing with paper? I have a hard time when I am requested by artists to obtain processed materials for papermaking. They request me pure Kozo material, but there's nobody who makes materials alone. For papermakers, processing materials accounts for almost 90 percent of the whole procedure of papermaking. If there's a specialist who exclusively processes materials, anyone can obtain material more easily. Then, I believe paper peculiar to Kochi will be made. In former days, farmers used to plant Kozo during the slack season and made paper from it in winter. The tradition still remains even now. People made paper from the Kozo they themselves planted, and vendered the paper tied with a rope as toilet paper throughout the town. That was the starting point of papermaking in Ino. Even if papermaking has become home industry and developed, the whole process in which they make everything by themselves hasn't changed. Even in making household paper, each family does everything from buying pulp to finishing products. So, as a matter of course, there are varieties in paper. I don't think it a smart way as business. On the contrary, when a certain type of paper needs to be developed, it seems easy to meet any kind of request as everyone makes different paper. They say weak points become strong points. A factory in Kawanoe City, Ehime Prefecture, which makes“Mizuhiki”or paper cords, has several companies relevant to each process of“Mizuhiki”making. In Kochi, however, a family does everything from papermaking to finishing products. Though unique products may be made, there seems no great progress in paper industry in Kochi. What do you think the relation between Kochi as a papermaking center and people in other prefectures should be in the future? Paper has been made in Kochi for a thousand years. Paper is produced in the ground of Kochi and with rich flow of the Niyodo River. I would like to let many people know how papermakers in Kochi think highly of their skills and stick to making good paper. I hope more and more people will use paper made in Kochi. Also, I want to create new paper of Kochi cooperating with various people. People come to Kochi to see paper from all over the world. It is a good thing for paper to spread in the world of arts. It's also a pleasure that print makers and conservators highly evaluate paper made in Kochi. Do you have any requests to the administration? Kochi University of Technology is going to open. I hope a specific method of producing processed Kozo will be studied in affiliation with organizations and institutes relevant to paper. Also, I hope new materials of paper will be developed. The work of us, laymen, is limited to software. So, I have a dream that colleges will have paper research department so that young people can study paper. Time may come when paper becomes very important in an unexpected place. I wish paper will further develop with global cooperation. In such time, paper needed by people might be Washi type. I think it must be genuine pure paper. So, we cannot put an end to Washi until the revival time comes. In order to go on to the next step, I am entrusting my dream to the possibility of paper.

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