Japanese washi paper remains an ingredient of life and culture that is achieving very high acclaim in other countries. Japanese people have devised uses of paper for sliding doors, screens, umbrellas, lanterns, string, body armor, and a variety of other tools for living. Almost all washi paper is made from tree bark, making it tough and difficult to tear. It is said to be comparable to natural leather. The raw materials are paper mulberry, paper bush, and a kind of spurge called ganpi. Since these can be planted from seeds and cultivated, they can be renewed over and over again, and have long been thought of as "the honor students of ecologically friendly recycling." Awagami is a kind of washi paper that originated 13 centuries ago. The methods of spreading and drying the wet paper pulp, and the mixtures of materials used, have been refined and the techniques passed down to the present day. This paper functions to regulate humidity, and with its unique, environmentally friendly character, it is indeed the optimal material for interior decorating applications today.