Suminagashi

墨流し / 12th century– / Technique / Decorated Paper

A technique in which concentric rings of ink dropped on the surface of water are disturbed by breath or brush and then lifted onto paper. The flow that appears on each sheet cannot be repeated, and from Heian period decorated papers to contemporary bookbinding it has continued as a method for inviting chance on purpose.

Suminagashi — Nishi Honganji Sanjūrokunin kashū, Tsurayuki shū volume 1, suminagashi paper, early 12th century — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Nishi Honganji Sanjūrokunin kashū, Tsurayuki shū volume 1, suminagashi paper, early 12th century — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Suminagashi — Shin Kokin Wakashū, calligraphy on suminagashi paper, 13th century — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Shin Kokin Wakashū, calligraphy on suminagashi paper, 13th century — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Suminagashi — Japanese decorated paper, suminagashi (Franz Bartsch paper collection, German National Library) — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 — Japanese decorated paper, suminagashi (Franz Bartsch paper collection, German National Library) — Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · CC0

At a glance

Visual cues

Streamlines of disturbed concentric rings
Layers made by the density of the ink
A pattern different on every sheet
Edges that keep the tension of the water surface

Best used for

Making a ground of which no two sheets are the same
Making a surface that handles quiet and chance at once

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Dictionary entry

Type: Place type clear of the flow and do not let it compete with the ground.
Composition: Fix the direction of the streamlines and run them diagonally to the edges of the sheet.
Material: Drop ink and surfactant alternately onto the water and disturb them with your breath.
Caution: Trying to control it completely produces a dead pattern. Decide in advance how much room chance is given.
Further study: Decorated papers of the Heian period / How the technique differs from Western marbling / Its use in contemporary bookbinding

Related entries

Paper Marbling (マーブリング)Same Decorated Paper lineage.Compare Suminagashi and Paper Marbling
Ebru (エブル)Same Decorated Paper lineage.Compare Suminagashi and Ebru

Often confused with

Ebru (エブル)compare

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