Entsuke Gold Leaf (Intangible Cultural Heritage), Pack of 10 Sheets

Authentic gold leaf made by "enzuke," a traditional method carried on in Kanazawa for more than 400 years. It is called "enzuke" (literally "with a margin") because the paper that sandwiches the gold leaf is slightly larger than the leaf itself. The distinguishing feature is the use of uchigami — paper made exclusively for enzuke gold leaf — created by steeping handmade washi of ganpi fiber and clay in persimmon tannin, lye liquor, egg and other ingredients. Preparing this paper alone takes about half a year.

Production begins with the "sumi" stage, in which the base alloy is beaten out to roughly 1/1,000 mm. Next comes "komauchi," where each sheet of sumi is placed one by one between sheets of the special enzuke paper, followed by "uchimae," in which the leaf is beaten still thinner to a final thickness of about 1/10,000 mm. Because the character of the handmade washi transfers to the gold leaf, the result has a quiet, subdued expression that machine-beaten gold leaf cannot achieve.

The technique was certified as a Selected Conservation Technique by the Japanese government in 2014, and in 2020 it was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list as part of "Traditional Skills, Techniques and Knowledge for the Conservation and Transmission of Wooden Architecture." Delivered in packs of 10 sheets.