☰
×
  • Origin
  • Info
  • Production
  • How To Make
  • Japanese Culture
  • Paper
  • Umbrellas
  • What are they!?
  • Simply put, they are just like regular umbrellas.. only.. made of paper..
  • But.. wouldn’t the water just dissolve the paper..?
  • Well, yes. But that’s not what these kind of umbrellas are used for.
  • Oil-paper umbrellas are often used as cover to shelter people from sunlight.
  • Oil-paper umbrellas are a type of umbrella that originated in China. It spread across several Asian countries where it has been developed with different characteristics. Other than the purpose of providing shade, oil-paper umbrellas are also traditional wedding items.
  • Others include scenes from famous Chinese literature, such as Dream of the Red Chamber and Romance of the Western Chamber. Yet, some have Chinese Calligraphy instead of paintings. However, traditional colours are kept on the sticks and the scaffold of the umbrella to maintain the antiquity.
  • The art of the Chinese style of Oil-paper umbrellas are mostly focused on traditional black and white Chinese painting such as flowers, birds and scenery.
  • Production
    The typical Chinese umbrella is made of one of two types of material: silk or paper. Paper umbrellas are easier to fashion, they can be treated with oil to make them impermeable, or water resistant and they lend themselves admirably to artistic decoration. Most paper umbrellas produced today are made impermeable with glutinous tung oil.
  • How They're Made
    Bamboo is selected. The bamboo is crafted and soaked in water. It is then dried in the sun, drilled, threaded and assembled into a skeleton. Washi paper is cut and glued onto the skeleton. It is trimmed, oiled, and exposed to sunlight. Lastly, patterns are painted onto the umbrella.
  • Cocktails
    A cocktail umbrella or paper parasol is a small umbrella made from paper, paperboard, and a toothpick. They are frequently associated with tropical drinks and Tiki bars and used as a garnish decoration. They are also used in desserts or other foods and beverages.
  • How to make your own miniature paper umbrella (for cocktail drinks etc)
  • What you need:
    • Colour papers
    • 1 Light blue cardstock
    • Scissors
    • Glue
    • 1 Toothpick
  • Other than its utility, oil-paper umbrellas appear quite often in Japanese culture and are often associated with traditional dance, tea ceremony and wedding ceremony. Oil-paper umbrella shops have classified their customers into categories for different styles of oil-paper umbrella:
    • Geisha use purple
    • Dancers use pink
    • Middle aged clients like green or red
    • Men and elderly use dark blue
    • Actors tend to pick black or brown
    • In weddings, brides are usually covered under a red oil-paper umbrella
  • paperumbrellas@gmail.com