These wonderfully decorative patterns on paper, known as Chiyogami, are silkscreened onto machine made sheets of mixed kozo and sulphite. They are more popularly known as Yuzen.
Chiyogami was meant to be cut into pieces and made into paper dolls or pasted on tea tins or small paper boxes. Many of the symbols depicted hearken back to auspicious occasions when fancy kimonos would be worn: cranes for long life; bamboo for flexibility; plum blossoms and pine boughs for beauty and longevity.
The striking pigment colours, careful registration of screens and wide range of designs make these papers ideal for picture mats, books and box making.