Hi there,
I'm a paper conservation student in London.
I wonder if anyone can help me with any background information about these Japanese paper strings. They were used to tie and decorate hair or wrap gifts (money ones). I don't read or speak Japanese so some of my research has not been so fruitful.
As part of my MA in Paper Conservation at Camberwell I was fortunate to get the chance to conserve and rehouse a group of Japanese paper strings used for tying and decorating hair and money gifts. They were lent to the college’s conservation department from the Economic Botany Collection at Kew Gardens which holds a small portion of the Sir Harry Parkes Collection. This collection, containing samples of almost all of the Japanese papers that were manufactured at that time, forms part of the report sent by the British Consul Sir Harry Parkes in 1871, from Tokyo. As requested by Prime Minister, William Gladstone for the purpose of stimulating the struggling paper industry in Britain. The report ended up in the Kensington Museum (later to become the V&A) after passing through the concerned government offices. And, after word had spread of its existence, samples were requested and received at Kew Gardens.
I'm interested in the cultural/social history of these objects. How they were used; was there any meaning behind the various types/colours; local variances.
edited for clarity
First of all, I'd consider cross-posting to /r/MuseumPros. Some of this seems to be more of a loan and paperwork question than a historical question.
Have you been able to contact the Japanese institution(s) that the objects were loaned to in the 1970s and 1990s? If not, they might have more information about the provenance of the individual pieces.