Moreover, the first paper was made from rags. Today, however, all paper is made from wood.
There are two types of paper that we commonly use today: Japanese paper and Western paper.
Washi is used for calligraphy, while notebooks and other items are made from paper. Washi is made from a tree called kouzo or mitsumata, which is beaten to extract thread-like fibers. The fibers are then dipped into a paste, mixed with nori, and scooped out with a scooping tool called a suku. Once this is done, the washi is ready to be used.
For washi, wood is shaved, ground, and doused with chemicals to extract the thread-like fibers, which are then mixed with glue, plowed, and rolled into a stick.
Nowadays, the "scooping" process is done by machine. This makes it possible to make a large quantity of paper at a time.

In Europe, until paper manufacturing methods were introduced from the East, parchment was used, which was made by drying sheep skins and scraping off the inner skin to make it thinner.