Cloth woven from the fibers taken from the inner skin of the stalks of tall grasses like hemp, ramie, nettles, and flax, as well as from the inner bark of vines like kudzu and trees like wisteria and paper mulberry. The long fibers were slit into fine ribbons which were then spliced together to form a continuous thread. Bast-fibers taken from the inner bark of trees and grasses are the oldest material used to make textiles in Japan. Among the treasures of the Shōsō-in, bast-fiber cloth was used for storage bags, work clothes, Buddhist banners, and as a base for paintings.