“Finding beauty in imperfection – the sense of beauty not in uniformity but in inconsistency, unevenness, blurriness, deviation, cracks and distortions – has greatly influenced me”

Ko Kado, the artist-craftsman and owner of Kamisoe, uses ancient Japanese techniques and interprets them poetically in a modern way to create sheets of paper.
Aware of the beauty of empty space and impermanence, he does not seek perfection, but creatively intervenes without dominating the paper, leaving room for the different conditions of the moment – colour, water, humidity, temperature – to play their part.
For his panels, wallpapers or letterheads, Ko Kado uses “washi” paper, which he prints by hand using the ancient “karakami” techniques with “kira” pigments, for delicate and colourful patterns; or “gofun” – white on white – to create overlapping shades of natural and textured whites.

Washi – ancient paper making technique that allows you to obtain a paper with long fibers, a thin but resistant paper that is used not only for paintings but also for objects and panelling

Gofun – traditional coloring method that gives thickness, three-dimensionality to the print.The pigments are made with the mineral mika “kira” in Japanese and shell powders.

Karakami – is a type of printing that uses hand-carved magnolia woodden blocks.The prints are made on “washi” paper using “gofun” pigments