Paper Trail to Ito-Ya

   E-mail and texting have not yet replaced sumie (ink) and washi (paper) for Tokyoites. Next door to Bulgari in the shopping district of Ginza (imagine: Fifth Avenue) rises a mecca for admirers of fine stationery called Ito-ya. Eight floors plus mezzanine of temptation: Ground floor beckons, much as any Hallmark on Lexington Avenue, with Western greeting cards. Venture upstairs and the adventure begins: Fountain pens on the mezzanine, art supplies on the floor above, diaries and desk items next, how about that postcard album for only Y 800? Keep climbing until the washi floor. On display heavy stock kozogami in seasonal colors and designs with the durability of cloth are available for just a few hundred yen per sheet (starting about $5).  What a good investment!

    Before leaving Ito-ya any self-respecting shodo (calligraphy) student stops by the section for practitioners of the Japanese variety. Packages of creamy mitsumatagami are a doddle at Y 750 (about $10); sheer as onionskin this disposable stock is meant for the practice of kanji and haiku. Over 100 years ago in the Meiji Era it was used for paper money. Delicate sumi-e (inksticks) of pine or oil soot mixed with nikawa (animal glue) measures about 1 x 3 inches. Elementary school children use the basic Y 700 variety; for $150 elaborate sticks come embossed with floral designs or covered with gold leaf. Time to stock up on a few shikishi (square boards) for the next project.

    "Sensei, may I practice kaze kaoru ?" I asked at this week's shodo class, a reference to the fragrant breeze from fujii (wisteria) and tsutsugi (azaleas) wafting over Tokyo. With a few strokes in orange ink she produced the sample for the two hours of copying that ensued. Last week I advised classmates to say tondemonai (don't be silly) when Sensei praised their work, which one student politely said after completing a haiku about cherry blossoms. New phrase of the week was waza-waza sumimassen: Thank you for going through the trouble. Smiling Sensei packed up for the return trip to Yokohama, pleased with a Western bouquet presented by a classmate.