Front and Back, Top and Bottom of Paper
Front and Back of Paper
Paper has a front and a back.
If you’re unsure which side is which, try feeling the surface first.
Generally, the smooth, silky side is the front, and the slightly rougher side is the back.
This occurs during the process of lifting the paper from the mold. The uneven surface becomes the back, while the more even surface becomes the front.
Judging by texture is usually the easiest method.
For handmade paper, there is another way to identify the front and back: look for the "brush marks" on the back.
During production, handmade paper is dried by attaching it to a large metal plate.
To prevent air bubbles, the back is smoothed with a brush, leaving visible brush marks. Machine-made paper, however, is produced with large machines and does not have such manual finishing, so no brush marks appear. The presence or absence of brush marks is a key point.
Sometimes brush marks are hard to see, but they are a useful way to determine the front and back of the paper.
Even if there are no brush marks, there is still a front and back.
In both handmade and machine-made paper, the front and back are created during production.
For handmade paper, the side that was in contact with the mold becomes the back. This side develops a textured surface.
Machine-made paper is formed between felt and large rollers, so the side touching the felt becomes the back.
Without features like brush marks, it can be hard to tell the sides just by looking.
When purchasing large sheets of paper, it may also be difficult to determine front and back.
For large papers, such as Xuan paper or ganshi, the sheets are often folded in quarters.
In such cases, the inner side of the fold is the front.
Top and Bottom of Paper
To identify the top and bottom, first check if the paper has any patterns.
Some papers have designs, such as floral or plant motifs.
Patterns with a clear orientation make it easy to determine the top and bottom.
Continuous patterns that are orientation-neutral can be used either way.
Plain sheets without patterns have no top or bottom distinction, so you may use them as you like.
Even square colored sheets can cause confusion.
Plain or gold-edged sheets can be used without worrying about orientation. If there are patterns or colors, consider the design. For example, if a pattern exists, the edge with more space is usually the top, and the side with less space is the bottom.
For sheets with sprinkled "gold dust" (sunago), the finer sprinkling is placed at the bottom and the larger sprinkling at the top. If the sprinkling is fairly even, placing the side with more empty space at the top creates a balanced and visually pleasing effect.
For colored sheets, consider the scenery.
Blue tones representing the sky should be at the top, while brown tones representing earth should be at the bottom.
If the color has gradients, the darker part should be at the top and the lighter part at the bottom.