Paper, a material which has been indispensable to the development of our civilization right up to the present 21st century, seems in recent years to be gradually disappearing from our lives. If we concern ourselves merely with recording information, the widespread use of electronic communications has drastically reduced our need for paper.
 In our living environment too, steel and concrete have gradually replaced paper as the foundations of modern civilization. As a result, the civilization we have built is beginning to crumble and even to show signs of collapse.
 Surely now, more than ever before, the time has come to reappraise paper as a material which has stood the test of centuries. Possessed of an inherent strength said to outlast even steel, paper touches our lives and the space around us, nourishing our souls. It may indeed be counted among the greatest inventions of mankind throughout the long years of history to date.
 Washi, in particular, is a material of great depth, combining practical accessibility with softness and warmth. When we think of using it as a means of artistic expression, the paper itself provides the strating point from which our ideas take shape. It is immensely versatile; not only a medium for writing or drawing, it lends itself to processing in a variety of ways that it adorns, appealing to us visually while at the same time surrounding and enveloping us.
  Artist who habitually work with paper are constantly asking themselves why they choose it as a medium. Each of us must search out our own answers in the process of artistic creation. Already many new forms of expression are being manifested in paper creations of astonishing freshness and originality. This year 2000, I hope will be a time to reflect upon the significance of expression and to further enrich and expand the world revealed therein.