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A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

nytimes.com

31–40 of 95 posts

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#31

Sourcing the raw material of bank notes from Nepal? Seems a bit off from an environmental standpoint by hauling materials halfway across the globe from Himalaya. How about plastic notes? They are durable, recyclable, and because they are money, not likely to end up in our oceans as wastes.

Japan has a long tradition of advanced papermaking.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is roughly a quarter the way around the globe

Not a native speaker, but this got me thinking: how would you interpret "halfway" in this sentence: >It’s not halfway across the globe Equator is 40k km long, so it makes sense getting "halfway" there would be 20k km. But the "half" is of something, and it doesn't sound right that "at the end of the globe" would be the same place you started with. Especially since being "on the other end of the world" means roughly,…

This is a very fair point! Another way they could be given credit is that the radius of the earth (another way to view "halfway across the globe") is 6371km so again the quoted distance would be more than this half.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is roughly a quarter the way around the globe

Not a native speaker, but this got me thinking: how would you interpret "halfway" in this sentence: >It’s not halfway across the globe Equator is 40k km long, so it makes sense getting "halfway" there would be 20k km. But the "half" is of something, and it doesn't sound right that "at the end of the globe" would be the same place you started with. Especially since being "on the other end of the world" means roughly,…

Thanks for explaining! Yeah.. I was thinking of the maximum direct surface distance when saying "across the globe"... That would be 20k km... and the sea route turns to be about 10K km long from Kolkata to Osaka...

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#34
Does anyone know how mitsumata got to Japan in the first place.

"Traditional paper" I imagine is something they've had since before the age of European colonization which brought all sorts of trade/exchange. Eg. The national-dish of 'curry' in Japan is a British twist on Indian one, and so you almost inevitably find Beef in it.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is roughly a quarter the way around the globe

Not a native speaker, but this got me thinking: how would you interpret "halfway" in this sentence: >It’s not halfway across the globe Equator is 40k km long, so it makes sense getting "halfway" there would be 20k km. But the "half" is of something, and it doesn't sound right that "at the end of the globe" would be the same place you started with. Especially since being "on the other end of the world" means roughly,…

As a native speaker: I think “across” (while understandable from context) is the wrong preposition because to me that would imply a diametric traversal, not circumspect, eg, halfway across would land you in the core of the earth. Half way around is what I would say to describe superficial travel of half the earth’s circumference, landing at the opposite side of the world.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#36
specifically argeli, a term which has no wikipedia article; mitsumata (which the article says is the name of the paper) is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_chrysantha. the wikipedia article says the papers are washi and, in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tissue, kitakata.

the econometrics from the article

> This year, Mr. Sherpa has hired 60 local Nepalis to help him process his harvest and expects to earn eight million Nepali rupees, or $60,000, in profit. (The average annual income in Nepal is about $1,340, according to the World Bank.) Mr. Sherpa hopes to produce 20 of the 140 tons that Nepal will be shipping to Japan. ¶ That’s a majority of the mitsumata needed to print yen ...

suggests that the total available profit is 420 thousand dollars, enough to support 313 nepalis (though perhaps the workers' wages are more than the landowner's profit, i suspect that they are, instead, smaller). the population of nepal is 30.7 million people, so this probably will not be a major new nepali export if it's just for the japanese mint. hopefully the article will make it fashionable among hipsters seeking better materials for their moleskines?

unfortunately the reporter did not think it was important to include the scientific name of the plant, so i guess we're out of luck

edit: as twic points out, it's almost certainly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeworthia_gardneri, so i've updated wikipedia

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#37
post #8

Sourcing the raw material of bank notes from Nepal? Seems a bit off from an environmental standpoint by hauling materials halfway across the globe from Himalaya. How about plastic notes? They are durable, recyclable, and because they are money, not likely to end up in our oceans as wastes.

It’s not halfway across the globe. Not even quarter way. Meanwhile, the US one dollar note is made with flax imported from Belgium (also not halfway across the globe, but farther away).

The US dollar is only 25% linen, 75% cotton.

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#38

Does anyone know how mitsumata got to Japan in the first place. "Traditional paper" I imagine is something they've had since before the age of European colonization which brought all sorts of trade/exchange. Eg. The national-dish of 'curry' in Japan is a British twist on Indian one, and so you almost inevitably find Beef in it.

it grows wild in china, which is where paper was invented, and which is separated from japan by the east china sea; shanghai is only about 1000km from kyushu. korea, which borders china, is even closer, about 200km: https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7650836,121.5784141,6z?entry...

if you count the ryukyu islands as 'japan', ishigaki is only about 100 km from taiwan

european colonization is totally irrelevant here

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#39
post #26

Let me guess... Edgeworthia crysantha? EDIT. Yup. I can see the article now. That photo is unmistakable. Is a famous Japanese shrub used since a lot of time. The only difference is the new area of culture it seems. Formerly known as E. papyrifera. Can be cultured in gardens, reduced size, and very nice fragrant blossoms in early spring. Fluffy flowers with the feel of a teddy bear. Needs acid soil.

the article maybe claims it's a different species? the reporter doesn't seem to know much about botany, so they're a little vague

Re: A shrub in Nepal supplies the raw material for the bank notes used in Japan

#40
post #29
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Canada they last 8-16 years… polymer notes are unequivocally better. Corruption and inertia is the only reason they are not everywhere. As to plastic pollution, banknotes are already a closed, circular loop and hence you get the miracle properties of plastic without the downside.

I think the concern was with the plastic money shedding micro plastics or threads as it slowly degrades over time, like we're finding other plastic does like our clothing. Not saying enough to take out of circulation, but does it shed any particles during its life?

Does it shed particles? In a world of absolutism yes they would.

I don’t know if there are actually any studies but fyi cotton notes will also have plastic features and a synthetic, uv cured varnish to try and get some extra life (although far less than polymer) so also ’shed’. Banknotes are regularly inspected and worn or damaged notes are pulled - they really are the perfect product for plastic.

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