dousa　礬水

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Also 礬沙, 陶砂. Sizing. Dousa is made by dissolving animal glue *nikawa 膠 in hot water, adding alum, boiling, and then adding cold water and cooling. It is used to coat paper and silk before painting to prevent ink and colours running. The formula for mixing dousa varies according to the season and the materials to be used. Untreated handmade Japanese paper *washi 和紙 is highly water absorbent. Inks consisting of small particles such as black carbon ink *sumi 墨 are absorbed and fixed between the paper fibers, but large particles of Japanese pigments *ganryou 顔料 remain on the surface while the nikawa solution used as a binder *baizai 媒剤 is absorbed. The pigment particles are not fixed to the picture surface, and unwanted blotting and spreading can occur. The dousa layer solves this problem by reducing the water absorption of the paper. Applying dousa is known as dousabiki 礬水引き, and paper sized with dousa is known as dousagami 礬水紙.

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