How To Make "SASAWASHI"

Process to make sasawashi

Sasawashi is the new living material combines the strength of Japanese paper and kumazasa.
It contribute us a health and comfortable living.
Using new technologies, we have resurrected traditional Japanese living culture to our modern world.


To use kumazasa’s natural components for Japanese paper
(Challenge of the Sasawashi Development Team)


Their goal is to make use of kumazasa’s natural antibacterial and odor resistant affects to our modern life. We could make “original kumazasa extract” that contains full of natural components by extracting essence from kumazasa grass. But the difficult part is making the product and keeping it’s excellent affects alive in the “original kumazasa extract.”

If we keep it to be natural without chemical treatment, the only way left is to apply original extract directly. But with this way, you will lose the ingredients during the use or by washing the material. Then, the great idea comes out, which is to strain flakes of kumazasa fiber into Japanese paper. Experimental stage proved that the essence of kumazasa’s ingredients stays alive and the functions continue constantly.

*note
Usually, kumazasa after extracted from the plant, decrease its affects considerably because the chlorophylls will be decomposed in a short time period. However, with collaborative study with Dr. Mitsuo Kimura, Ph.d. of technology, the team developed a reformed kumazasa, which is not decomposed by sunbeam, and succeeded to blend it in a Japanese paper. (patent application is underway)


Process to make a fabric of sasawashi(From paper to fabric)

Let’s introduce the four processes of making sasawash to thread, and woven to fabric.

Paper manufacturing
Act.1 Paper manufacturing

In a process to make Japanese paper, fibers of the reformed kumazasa, which are sustainable from chlorophyll decomposition by sunbeams, are mixed in. In this stage, the papers become sheets of sasawashi.
Slit
Act.2 Slit

Make slits on the sheets of sasawashi, and cut them to long and narrow shape. The slits make the paper cut straight continuously and make a shape likes tape. A narrow cut could make a thin thread, and thick cut could make a thick thread.
Twine of thread
Act.3 Twine of thread

Twine sasawashi tapes, which are long and narrowly cut, to threads. The threads could be woven or knit etc., open possibility to make various finished goods.
Making fabrics
Act.4 Making fabrics

Using sasawashi thread after twined, combine vertically and horizontally, then wove to sasawashi fabrics by weaving machine.

What is "SASAWASHI"?
Characteristics of sasawashi

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