A Paper Tsutsu: Tsutsugaki Textile Tool

ca. mid twentieth century
8 1/2" x 2 1/8" diameter, 21.5 cm x 5.25 cm diameter

This beautifully simple, small paper cone is the tool used to apply rice paste to cloth in the tsutsugaki method of freehand paste resist dyeing.

The tsutsu is made from washi which has been saturated in kaki shibu, or the extract from green persimmons.  This paper, or shibugami as it is called, is strengthened due to the kaki shibu, which also renders the paper slightly impervious to water.   Note the streaks of the kaki shibu down the length of the cone and a tiny, paper accretion to the tip of the cone.