I went shopping the other day to pick up some supplies for my woodblock printmaking work. To the art supply store? No ... To the 'enogu' shop? No ... I went to my local pharmacy ...

I am sure that when the pharmacist sees me coming into his store, he thinks to himself, "Oh no, not this guy again! What strange things will he ask me for this time?" This is because I don't buy 'normal' things in his shop, like aspirin, shampoo, or toothpaste. I visit him to buy some particular products needed for my work, all of which are a bit unusual ...

One of these is camellia oil. It used to be a common item for hairdressing, and in older times, the pharmacist probably sold a lot, but these days very few people ask him for it. But I don't put it on my hair, like my childrens' grandmother does! I use it to oil the bamboo skin that covers my 'baren'. The printmaker must press the baren very firmly onto the washi, and without any lubrication, the paper would soon become torn.

Camellia oil has two special properties that make it perfect for this work: it does not stain the paper, like many oils would, and it never 'goes bad' and becomes smelly, even in hot weather.

In the old days, when a printer found his baren becoming a bit stiff, he simply rubbed it on the top of his head for a moment. This picked up oil from his hair, and he could then continue his work. Somehow, this doesn't work for me ... Do you think I should stop washing my hair so often?