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The Yomiuri Shimbun Greeting cards bear festive or congratulatory message.
By Daisuke Inoue / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
11:28 JST, December 16, 2024
The Yomiuri Shimbun Each card is handmade with care. Tweezers are sometimes used to create fine details.
Greeting cards made of beautiful washi traditional Japanese paper are a delight to the eyes for their gorgeous and elegant designs, and when inscribed with a message of gratitude become a special communication tool.
Picking up one of those cards, one becomes aware of the pleasantly soft texture distinct to washi. One particular card is made with two pieces of washi paper attached to each other and folded like the letter M. When opened, it can stand like a byobu set of screens. A cute little paper crane is hanging in a window-like hole in one of the washi pieces.
The card is available at a Japanese-style greeting card shop called nakazawa in Taito Ward, Tokyo. Inside the shop, there are greeting cards in various designs as well as envelopes for gifts of money for big and small occasions.
“I’m always thinking about what kind of new products we can create next,” said Takashi Nakazawa, 44, the shop’s president.
The first step to make a washi greeting card is to attach a piece of yuzen washi paper with a traditional Japanese pattern to a sheet of fine paper called mermaid paper.
The Yomiuri Shimbun These 3D greeting cards are decorated with traditional Japanese charms, creating a lovely atmosphere.
Small items that serve as accents, such as paper cranes and fans, are manually produced as well. Nakazawa sometimes uses tweezers to fold a 5-square-centimeter piece of washi paper.
The Yomiuri Shimbun These Christmas cards show an eclectic mix of East and West.
He has produced more than 500 varieties of greeting cards, including ones with traditional Japanese patterns as well as cards for seasonal events. The shop has sold cards with seasonal motifs, such as red maple leaves in autumn, as well as Christmas cards with pictures of snow-covered fir trees and Santa Claus in winter.
Greeting cards with elaborate designs can be used as nice interior decor. In winter, it would be nice to decorate a card with sprigs of holly with berries.
“It’s fun to arrange [the cards] by yourself depending on the season,” Nakazawa said.
The shop also stocks cards for celebrating happy occasions, such as birthdays, weddings and new babies. Greeting cards give tangible form to the senders’ thoughts for the recipients and can be kept by them.
“There are actually quite a few opportunities to send greeting cards to someone, such as birthdays and wedding anniversaries,” he said. “Why don’t you send a special card to tell someone dear to your heart your feeling of gratitude?”
Wedding invitation cards
The Yomiuri Shimbun A handwritten note encourages customers to order wedding invitation cards at nakazawa.
The shop also takes orders for wedding invitation cards and place cards. The price ranges from ¥800 to ¥1,000 per invitation card and ¥350 per place card.
Their designs and colors are decided with the clients.
While an increasing number of people opt for small-scale wedding ceremonies these days for reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, there are also many people who come to the shop saying they want to make invitation cards and place cards something special.
“I feel honored to have our cards used at congratulatory occasions. It makes me feel as if they are sharing their happiness with me,” Nakazawa said with a chuckle.
Takashi Nakazawa
Born in 1980 in Tokyo, Nakazawa worked at an advertisement agency and other companies before becoming involved in management at nakazawa, the greeting card shop his parents opened in 2014. At first, he found it difficult to make even a paper crane, but now he makes all the products sold at the shop together with his mother.
