How to clean and repair Japanese Shoji.

How to clean and repair Japanese Shoji.

Shoji this is the name given to the wooden sliding Doors/panels, found mostly in the older style and traditional houses in Japan.

Firstly on a trip to Japan a long time ago now, or so it would seem, I had the opportunity to be able to clean and the repair some broken Shoji’s.

Well, I had never carried out such an interesting request before, so I jumped at the chance to learn something new.

When I looked at the Shoji, I saw that it had been discoloured by nicotine therefore, I set about to wash the wooden structure.

Firstly I removed all the torn rice paper that was discoloured by many years of cigarette smoke.

I filled a bowl with hot water, and started to clean the wooden frame with a brush and cloth.

I was very surprised as to how much grime came off; well it had taken many years to build up suppose.

I cleaned the surface until the water rinsed clear, and then I allowed the timber frame to dry thoroughly over night.

The next day I was keen to try and repair the broken frame struts, I had no tools to hand and began to think that perhaps this might be a too difficult a job.

After very careful thought, I decided to go to the local DIY shop and see what was on offer in my quest to fix the damaged frames.

Well, I found a suitable glue for repairing the wood, and I also needed some masking tape, after finding these items I was now ready to start.

I tired to place all the broken pieces of wood together on a table, once I found where they all belonged.

I started to fix them together in sequence, and because I had no clamps, I did something that I have done many times before; I used masking tape to pull the joints together and left them to dry.

I was delighted when the repaired timbers when dry, left no visible glue line I thought this has to be a good idea.

I finally glued all of the broken pieces back just like a jigsaw puzzle.

Now for learning about the rice paper covering, how could I replace this I asked myself, well back to the DIY shop again and yet another search around and attempting to ask the staff for Shoji paper, a staff member understood what I was looking for and showed me a suitable paper, but how could I attach the paper to the wooden frame? I was at a loss.

I was then shown special glue for this job, the name of the glue is called Nori, this is made from rice, the glue is like a very starchy substance.

Nori glue, is especially used for this job, I was told because it does not stain through the white Shoji paper, and has been used for many years in Japan.

I mixed up the Nori glue with water and was ready to attach the paper to the frame.

I read the instructions or should I say, that I looked at the picture instructions which showed that the paper should be glued whilst the frame is stood in the upright position, after a few failed attempts at this I gave up why! Because the paper kept on rolling down to the floor, in desperation I decided to lay the frame on the table therefore a flat surface.

Now this worked much better, I slowly spread the glue on the thin struts of wood and just like wallpaper, I very slowly rolled out the special rice paper wiping the surface with a clean cloth to apply general pressure for the glue to dry, I had found items to hold down the drying paper over night.

The next day I went to inspect my efforts, and to my delight the paper had dried on perfectly.

I was told that the paper as it dries shrinks very slightly and therefore tightens to the frame, thus pulling out any creases should there be any.

Pleased with my efforts, I proceeded to repair other

Shoji's that needed attention.

After I fitted the doors back into their groves, the doors looked just like new, I felt very proud that I had carried out these repairs, and without any tools and certainly no knowledge on how to repair Shoji’s before.

It just goes to show that with a little imagination and effort, we can all do many tasks that we are not familiar with.

Shoji's are mainly made from Cedar wood; this has a strong tight grain and has a good light appearance.

I have been told, that back in Japanese history, Ninjas if they wanted to enter a house or building without disturbing the occupants, they would spread some oil along the track of the door and this would stop the door from squeaking, now that is very cleaver and the unsuspecting occupant would be none the wiser should they live to tell the tale.

Footnote, 
Sometimes people call it "Rice paper" (since it sounds " Oriental"?), but Shoji paper really has nothing to do with rice.

Traditionally Shoji paper (washi) was made of Japanese mulberry tree called "Kozo" or shrubs called " Mitsumata" and Ganpi".  The paper was scarce and valuable because it was all natural and hand-made.

I hope that you have enjoyed this experience with me? If you have feedback is always welcome.

Thanks,

Andrew.