Two Armenian Men Revive a Sacred Japanese Craft to Save Priceless Ancient Manuscripts
- Feb 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 1
Two Armenian restorers have brought the centuries-old Japanese art of washi — handmade paper traditionally used in preservation — to Armenia for the first time. Instead of traveling abroad to produce it, they are recreating the delicate craft locally using Armenian plants and traditional techniques.
At the Matenadaran in Yerevan, Artavazd Ayvazyan and Arthur Petrosyan are now producing Japanese-style restoration paper entirely by hand, adapting the method to Armenian tree species.
Artavazd Ayvazyan, Senior Restorer at the Matenadaran, explains that high-quality restoration paper used worldwide is traditionally made from specific Japanese shrubs. By studying the process and working with imported materials and tools, Armenian specialists discovered that similar results could be achieved using rare Armenian plants.
“In winter, we collect thin branches — we never cut down trees,” Ayvazyan explains. “The branches regrow every year. The entire process is natural and environmentally clean.”
The production process is meticulous. The bark is separated through steam boiling, cleaned layer by layer until only the white fiber remains, then processed into pulp. The fibers are beaten by hand with wooden mallets to achieve the proper texture before being formed into sheets using a traditional Japanese bamboo screen — one of the most essential and costly handmade tools in the craft.
This paper is primarily used to restore written heritage. Conservation centers rely on such delicate materials, though artists and designers may also use it for creative work.
Arthur Petrosyan, paper conservator at the Matenadaran, demonstrates the finished sheets. When held up to the light, fine lines reveal the imprint of the bamboo screen and the evenly distributed fibers — hallmarks of authentic handmade paper.
“For now, we have one type,” Petrosyan says, “but we plan to expand — producing thinner and medium-weight variations.”
The thinnest sheets they have produced weigh only fractions of a gram — so delicate they are almost transparent. Petrosyan previously trained in Germany at the workshop of renowned European papermaking expert Gangolf Ulbricht, where he refined techniques for producing Japanese-style restoration paper independently.
Ulbricht, considered one of Europe’s leading authorities on historic paper, can identify a manuscript’s origin simply by examining its fibers and watermarks.
Unlike decorative European papers that contain visible patterns and workshop marks, the Armenian-produced sheets are smooth and neutral — designed specifically for conservation work.
The Armenian Report was granted rare access to observe the restoration of the Msho Charentir manuscript at the Matenadaran.
The Msho Charentir — also known as the Mush Homiliary — is one of the largest and most significant Armenian manuscripts in existence. Created in the early 13th century, it is a monumental collection of sermons and religious texts. Weighing nearly 30 kilograms, it is considered one of the heaviest manuscripts in the world.
Restorers work only on damaged areas, carefully adding handmade paper to reinforce fragile parchment without altering the original text or imagery.
“Every manuscript has its own specific features,” the specialists note. “Even the simplest one.”
In a country whose written heritage spans centuries, this development is more than a revival of an ancient craft — it is an important step in cultural preservation.
For the first time, Armenian restorers are not only conserving historical documents — they are producing the very material needed to protect them for future generations.
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