In the book "Musashi" the main character is given a complete outfit including tissue paper. Is the tissue paper something like a napkin or handkerchief? If not, what would the purpose of the tissue paper be? It's the second paragraph of page 94. http://imgur.com/a/g0L4X
The tissue was used as a handkerchief, like modern throwaway paper tissues.
When Hasekura Tsunenaga went to Europe to visit the Pope, he made a stop in St. Tropez. The cities chronicle notes that the Japanese "blow their noses on soft silky papers the size of a hand, which they never use twice, so that they throw them on the ground after usage".