Founded in 1806 in Edo (present day Tokyo), Haibara are one of the most classic exponents of Japanese paper craft in the capital.
Originally a specialist in fine 'gampi' paper made using shrubs in the Wikstroemia genus, the firm made its reputation among the connoisseurs of fine things in the Nihonbashi district.
It was in the third generation of the family firm that this appeal travelled across the oceans - with Haibara’s paper designs presented at the great European exhibitions of the mid-nineteenth century.
The striking nature of these designs, and the quality of their material, was impactful within the ‘Japonisme’ wave of European interest in Japanese aesthetics of this period.
Haibara paper works from this era are for example, still stored at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The business today remains a family firm, and is in its seventh generation. Its now modern fronted shop in the Nihonbashi district is a place to discover the combination that originally attracted domestic and international interest: fine quality paper presented with period classics of Japanese design.
