Stress seems to melt away when you gaze at this serene forest protecting the mitsumata blossoms below. While the flowering buds are beautiful in their natural state, the mitsumata shrub (Edgeworthia chrysantha) has so much more to offer. Originally brought from China to Japan by monks, the green plant is now a staple of Japanese papermaking and one of three principal ingredients in washi, traditional Japanese paper. No wonder, then, that it"s also known as the Oriental paperbush. Mitsumata washi is dense and holds ink well—it"s a favorite of artists and calligraphers—and sheets of mitsumata paper are also used in traditional shoji screens.
Mitsumata blossoms
Today in History
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Spring equinox
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Hello, harbinger of spring
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Happy Arbor Day!
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Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
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National Park Week: Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii
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From the mind of Frank Gehry
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Of moles and liquid nitrogen
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National Park Week: Wind Cave National Park
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World Lizard Day
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Aw shucks, It s Oyster Day
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Children at play for International Day of Friendship
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A peek at an explosive peak
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World Lion Day
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Bearded reedlings in Flevoland
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Midsummer in Sweden
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Flock online for the Great Backyard Bird Count
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Design for Each and All
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Let’s have a ball
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Cumberland Island National Seashore
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It’s Weihnachtsmarkt time!
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Capitol Reef National Park, Utah