Water change of old glue 2025 – What kind of old glue is indispensable for MOUNTING work? How to make it? ～ ～How do you make it?
It is time to change the water in the old glue again this year.
When we mountings restore cultural properties or tailor hanging scrolls, we sometimes use a paste called “furunori” (old glue).
these is called shofunori, a starch paste derived from wheat flour those has been aged for several years or more,
The process reduces the adhesive strength of the glue, making it soft and supple with less tension ・.
Kakejiku and makiko scrolls are rolled up for preservation, so this old glue can be used to make them more durable for a longer period of time.
In addition, when re-tailoring or restoring, the weak adhesive strength allows the existing backing paper to be removed cleanly,
these minimizes damage to the original paper (work) during the work.
Old glue is also called “kan-nori” (cold glue) because it has been made every year during the time of the great cold.
The ” Hyosuikai,” a group of volunteer mounting artists to which I belong, engages in a process called “glue cooking” once every two years to make ko-zuki (old glue).
The process of making old glue is as follows. (The method differs slightly depending on the mounting master.)
・The glue made by cooking the glue is placed in a jar.
・Water is poured on the surface of the jar, the lid is closed, and the jar is sealed.
・Store in a cool, dark place such as under the floor.
・Once a year, during the cold season, open the lid, remove mold from the surface, and change the water.
・Store in a cool, dark place again.
・Repeat these process over several to ten years.
these is how old glue is made.
Of course, it is not sold commercially, and there is no way to obtain it except by making it by the mounting master himself.
Also, as mentioned above, the manufacturing method differs depending on the mounting master ・mounting store, and even if the same mounting master makes the glue, the finish varies slightly from year to year,
Even if the same mounting artist makes the same piece, the result will vary slightly from year to year, and no two pieces will be the same.
In our store, we started making old glue in 2018 with the admission to the aforementioned Hyosuikai.
The 2018 old glue is maturing well and is almost ready to be used in the field.
However, the glue we cooked in 2020 was in a rotten state when we changed the water the following year,
The next year, when the water was changed, it was completely rotten.
The next year, the glue was cooked in 2022. I tried to preserve it in two ways: wet ・ dry and wet ・ dry.
※ dry method is to seal the jar with a clean hand towel instead of filling it with water and store it in the jar.
However, when we opened the jar in 2023, we found that the wet method had rotted.
The dry method was also almost completely rotten? The dry type was also almost rotten. We sealed the dry jar again with a clean hand towel and let it sit for a year,
The situation did not improve in 2024. But, out of experimental curiosity, we decided to let it sit for one more year.
I hope the glue will grow properly in one year!
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So, this time for the 2025 old glue water change,
We will be presenting three jars: “2018 Mono = maturing well,” “2022 Mono = dying,” and “2024 Mono = newcomer.”
Please see below for past submissions.
2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
First, let’s start with the stable “2018 things”.
We open the lid hoping for another year of steady growth.
It looks the same as the last few years. There is a white mold those seems to float in the water on the surface.
There is almost no smell, but there is a slight scent of lactic acid drink or yogurt.
The mold floating in the water is poured out of the jar. It feels like deron.
these is what the inside of the jar looked like after I dumped out the mold and the slimy parts and cleaned the jar.
It is very beautiful. The amount is a little less than half of what I cooked the first time. I feel that there is still quite a bit left.
This time, I will keep the slimy part, which I usually throw away, and experiment with its adhesive power.
Experiments will be done later.
Let’s continue with the dying “2022 thing”.
The opening of the temple.
Mildew is growing on the hand towel which was clean. There is no particular smell.
Remove the hand towel.
Some are sticky on the hand towel and some are left at the bottom of the jar,
Both of them are sludge, and they don’t look like they can be used as glue.
Unfortunately, the “2022 Mono” project will be terminated at this time.
Now, let’s move on to the newcomer, the “2024 Project”.
But at this point, I have a very bad feeling about it.
Because when I first put the three jars in the room, there was a smell like crushed ginkgo nuts in the air.
And when I opened the “2018” and “2022” jars, neither of them had that smell.
So, the source of this smell is, in all likelihood, this “2024 mono”.
In my past experience, when there was a bad smell, there was no mold and the whole glue was rotten.
I will open the package anyway.
It’s so bad! After all, there is no mold at all.
If you tilt it a little.
・・・
No good. It looks completely rotten.
Like the “2020” and “2022,” it has gone bad after only one year.
I have no idea what is different from the “2018” which is maturing well, and why it has gone bad.
The jar used, the water in it, and the storage location are all the same.
So, I would think that it might have been the glue those was ruined when the glue was cooked together and the glue was made,
But it seems that some of the glues are maturing well under the care of other Omotesuki members who cooked the glue with us and brought it back home.
(There is talk that the tiny droplets of saliva that fly about during the cooking process or the indigenous bacteria in the skin may be mixed in and cause problems… but what?)
Frankly speaking, it is not something that can be solved by any effort or ingenuity, and at this point, it is completely a matter of luck.
Next year, we will be cooking glue again, so if there are any measures that can be taken before then, I will try to take them.
Anyway, this year, I will seal the “2018 things” that continue to grow safely and wait to see them again in another year.
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Now for the aforementioned “2018 Mono” adhesion experiment.
Add appropriate amount of water and dissolve.
Put glue on the backing paper, lay it on the paper, and dab it with a brush. Beat with a beating brush.
Unlike new glue, old glue still seems to have weak adhesive strength, so carefully tap it so that the paper fibers are entangled with each other.
Lay it out to dry.
Dry condition.
Paper and paper are firmly adhered! It feels softer than when we used new glue.
We were able to confirm that the glue still functions well even seven years after its creation!
It may have been a coincidence at first, but the ancestors who created the old glue in this way are truly great mountings masters.
Please look forward to next year’s report on the water change of glue cooking ・ old glue. Thank you for reading to the end.