The first part of a three part series on handmade paper from Mino just went up on PAPERSKY (HERE) and SNOW (HERE). The first is on Masashi Sawamura, pictured above in his trophy room surrounded by towers of handmade paper. We sat on the tatami as he told us stories and showed his prizes and awards (he was given the highest award a living person can acquire for cultural achievement in japan – one rank above a ‘national intangible living treasure’). In the center of our circle was a spot where the tatami had completely worn through. The fibers had completely disappeared in an area about the size of a man’s hand, marking out a messy zone where he had shared more tea, paper, and treasures than the tatami could physically withstand.