Washi in the context of "Wreath"

A plate is a broad, mainly flat vessel on which food can be served. A plate can also be used for ceremonial or decorative purposes. Most plates are circular, but they may be any shape, or made of any water-resistant material. Generally plates are raised round the edges, either by a curving up, or a wider lip or raised portion. Vessels with no lip, especially if they have a more rounded profile, are likely to be considered as bowls or dishes, as are very large vessels with a plate shape. Plates are dishware, and tableware. Plates in wood, pottery and metal go back into antiquity in many cultures.

In Western culture and many other cultures, the plate is the typical vessel from which food is eaten and on which it is served, provided the food is not too high in liquid content, its primary alternative is the bowl. Some South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures use leaf plates made from the leaves of a variety of plants, including the banana leaf, pandan leaf, sometimes using underlying paper. Parts of the bamboo plant, like sections of bamboo tubes [ja], bambuseae leaves, bamboo shoot skin, and the paper (cf. Kaishi and Washi) are also used as plates in East Asian cultures.

In Japanese architecture, fusuma (襖) are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) wide by 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) tall, the same size as a tatami mat, and are 2–3 cm (0.79–1.18 in) thick. The heights of fusuma have increased in recent years due to an increase in average height of the Japanese population, and a 190 cm (6 ft 3 in) height is now common. In older constructions, they are as small as 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) high. They consist of a lattice-like wooden understructure covered in cardboard and a layer of paper or cloth on both sides. They typically have a black lacquer border and a round finger catch.

Historically, fusuma were painted, often with scenes from nature such as mountains, forests or animals. Today, many feature plain mulberry paper, or have industrially-printed graphics of fans, autumn leaves, cherry blossom, trees, or geometric graphics. Patterns for children featuring popular characters can also be purchased.

Broussonetia is a genus of four species (including one hybrid species) of trees in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. These four species have high-quality fiber which consist of more than 90% of cellulose. They are traditionally applied for various daily necessities in South Eastern Asia and papermaking in East Asia.

One of these is the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), whose bark fiber is used to make traditional paper in China, Korea, and Japan. This species has been widely introduced and has become invasive in some areas. Not only is paper mulberry used for paper making, but also other species are widely used in paper industry in those three countries' history. In fact, paper mulberry is not a major source of their traditional paper at least in Korea and Japan. Major material fibers of hanji (Korean paper) and washi (Japanese paper) come from Broussonetia × kazinoki. Broussonetia × kazinoki is known as only hybrid in Broussonetia genus between B. monoica and B. papyrifera.