Suppliers
These are my main suppliers in the UK and the ones I favour
Based close to Borough Station in London, Intaglio also sells mail order. They are specialists and will have everything you need for printmaking and the staff are extremely knowledgeable. They supply the specialist Japanese printing brushes and tools for Japanese woodblock as well as solid side grain poplar blocks which are great for fine detail work
Good quality general art supplies with a shop in Hove. An easy website for shopping and helpful over the phone. Good selection of papers
Specialist paper suppliers, the web site is not very user friendly and I would recommend a visit to their paper warehouse within walking distance of Brixton Tube. Extremely knowledgeable staff and willing to provide samples.
General internet art and craft supplies, they do sell Japanese ply, sold as Asian ply, plus Japanese paper and are shopping friendly. No specialist knowledge or tools.
A mail order company specialising in all things print and a good source for Japanese woodblock supplies. Extremely helpful and friendly staff, based in Bognor with a welcoming shop and large studio area specialising in courses by local and visiting printmakers.
A carpentry woodworking tool specialist, they are an excellent source for sharpening stones and accessories from basic to expert.
Suppliers in the USA
I give these because they have a far greater range of stock.
This delightful and friendly shop have a fantastic range of all things print, especially Japanese woodblock supplies. They do mail order and publish a lovely catalogue. I keep trying to get them to open a UK branch, but no luck so far...
Supplier of Japanese papers. They will quote for supply outside North America.
Suppliers in Japan
This is not an authoritative list, they are here because I may have visited them on my visits to Japan and been impressed. They may not supply mail order outside Japan or have English speaking staff and many of the web sites are only available in Japanese (and Google translate can be quite imaginative with specialist materials!).
Sekaido - www.sekaido.co.jp
General art shop the size of a department store with a fairly good selection of general printing goods. Sells steel ball bearing barens
Bumpodo - www.bumpodo.co.jp
More specialist art shop with a better selection of tools including the large scoop 'u' gouges for clearing large areas.
Michihamono - www.michihamono.co.jp
Much more specialist tool shop for cutting tools particularly - excellent selection of cutting tools and lots of helpful advice.
Woodlike - wx30.wadax.ne.jp/~woodlike-co-jp/zen4/
My favourite supplier and well worth visiting for the interesting workshop. Sells all the equipment you would need and specialises in plywood for mokuhanga. Also has a beautiful selection of washi papers ( if you do go please send my regards to Mr Matsumura - he is so generous with his help and time).
Awagami Factory - awagami.com
Maker of Japanese washi papers for most purposes. They produce traditional hand-made papers as well as semi-automated papers which are still basically still hand-made. A wide range of types and weights are available. They will ship abroad and many of their products are also sold by the major print materials suppliers.
Ozu Washi - www.ozuwashi.net
Lovely paper shop with a gallery/museum attached.
Mokuhankan - mokuhankan.com
Everybody with an interest in Japanese woodblock printing will be aware of David Bull. His shop is mostly for selling prints, but they have organised print parties and are very generous with their advice. If you haven’t heard of David then you should check out his YouTube channel.
Pride of Japan - poj.co.jp
A website dedicated to the craft of handmade Japanese washi paper with beautiful photography and helpful information
This helpful list of Japanese suppliers comes from a list by MI-Lab who run residencies in Japanese woodblock printing (endeavor.or.jp/mi-lab)
Hamono Furukawa - carving tools - www.frkw.com
Kobayashi Hake - brushes - www.kobayashihake.jp
Miyagawa Hake - brushes - edo-hake-brish.com
Morihei - sharpening stones - www.morihei.co.jp
Isetatsu - papers - www.isetatsu.com
Kanaya Burashi - Metal brushes for Mokume-zuri (raised wood grain) - www.kanaya-brush.com/
And a few from the same list for other disciplines that may be useful:
Masumi - Japanese fabric mounting - www.masumi-j.com
Tokuouken - Japanese painting - www2.gol.com/users/tokuouken/
Kiya - Japanese painting - kiya.ehoh.net
Kinkaido - painting - ameblo.jp/kinkaido/
Shodo Center - Japanese calligraphy - www.shodocenter.co.jp/2shodousentar.co.jp.htm
Koueiroku - Japanese calligraphy - Koueiroku.com
Aikuma - textile dying - www.aikuma.co.jp
Origami Museum - paper - www.origamikaikan.co.jp