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家業に関わり始めた頃、…もうかれこれ10年以上前のお話。
「和紙のこと、全く知らんな〜」と思って、四国へ旅行。四国には和紙の産地がけっこうあるし、旅行したかったし。
何カ所か廻った…ことだけ覚えてる。そこでお話を聞かせてもらった職人さんにお伺い。

「和紙って何ですか？」

ある職人さんは「そもそもの和紙の原材料 "楮（こうぞ）"、"三椏（みつまた）"、"雁皮（がんぴ）" のいずれかの繊維が含まれた紙を和紙という」と。
ある職人さんは「手漉きの紙を和紙という」と。
ある職人さんは「日本で漉いた紙は、みんな和紙」と。

う〜ん　～(꒪꒳꒪;)～ 　みんな言うてることが違う。

Wikipedia「和紙」
【特徴】
洋紙が伝わり普及した明治時代、日本古来の紙が「和紙」として認識されるようになった。一般的な「和紙」の特長は「洋紙に比べて格段に繊維が長いため、薄くとも強靭で寿命が比較的長く、独特の風合いを持つ」と言われている（但し、種類や用途によって、一概には断言できない）。木材パルプ原料から生産される「洋紙」と比較すると、原料が限られ生産性も低いために価格は高い。伝統的な漉き方では、独特な流し漉き技術を用いるが、「現代の和紙」（「和紙」風の風合いを持つ紙）は需要の多い障子紙や半紙を中心に、伝統的でない原料が使われる和紙や、大量生産が可能な機械漉きの紙も多いが、目視だけでは区別が難しい場合も多い。伝統的な製法と異なる原料を用いた和紙や、機械漉きの和紙は歴史的に耐久性や経年劣化に対する検証が不十分であり、シミの発生や繊維の脆化などの欠点を持つ物も多い。そのため日本古来の原料と製法で作られた紙という意味での「和紙」との混用を認めない意見もある。

書いてあることは、今どきで的確やけど、ほんで「和紙ってなんやねん？」という回答にはなってないよな。
でも、こうなってしまうことはよく分かる。

「和紙のような紙」は木材パルプで作られているので、この紙はWikipediaに書かれている「洋紙」を指すのであって、これは和紙ではなく「和紙のような洋紙」。でも、店頭で「和紙」と書かれて販売されているので素直な人は「和紙って書いてあるから和紙や」と思うわな〜。
そういえば前に「和紙ってすぐ破れるでしょ〜！」って言うてる人がおったな。ホンモノを触ったこと無いんやろな〜って思って、笑って流したけど。

そもそも、日本の伝統に関するモノには定義がない。←ココ問題。

これもまた古い話やけど。京都のとある有名な観光地へ行ったとき「ちりめん」と書かれた大きな看板を出したお土産もん屋さんがあって。
「へぇ〜、ちりめん屋か。京都やね〜」と思って、中に入った。
しかし〜…、手に取ってみるとそれはポリエステル、Made in China ばっかり。

「あの〜、すみません。"正絹のちりめん"ありませんか？」
「置いてません」

えっ？！ (°д°) ないの？あんなに大きな看板出してるのに？マジカッ！

日本政府よ、日本文化をエサにして海外観光客呼ぶのはエエけど。これは問題やろ。
"なーんちゃって" ばっかり残って観光客もけーへんよーになるで〜！法律でなんとかして下さ〜い！

When I started working in the family business, more than 10 years ago.
I thought, "I don't know anything about washi," and traveled to Shikoku.
There are quite a few washi production areas in Shikoku, and I wanted to travel there. I remember that I visited several places. I asked a craftsman there who told me a story.

What is washi?
One craftsman said, "Washi is paper that contains fibers of kozo (paper mulberry), mitsumata (mitsumata), or gampi (gampi), which are the raw materials for Japanese paper.
One craftsman says, "Handmade paper is called washi.
A craftsman said, "All paper made in Japan is washi.

Hmmm...(꒪꒪;)~ Everyone is saying different things.

Wikipedia「和紙」
【Feature】
During the Meiji period (1868-1912), when Western paper was introduced and became widespread, the ancient Japanese paper came to be recognized as "washi" (Japanese paper). Washi is generally characterized by its toughness, longevity, and unique texture, even though it is thin, due to its much longer fibers compared to western paper (however, it is difficult to make a blanket statement, depending on the type and use). Compared to paper made from wood pulp, paper is more expensive due to its limited raw materials and lower productivity. Traditional methods of papermaking use a unique nagashizuki technique, but "modern washi" (paper with a "washi" look and feel) is centered on shoji paper and hanshi paper, which are in high demand. There are many types of washi made from non-traditional raw materials and machine-made paper that can be mass-produced, but in many cases it is difficult to distinguish them by visual inspection alone. Historically, washi made from raw materials that differ from traditional methods and machine-made washi have not been fully verified for durability and age-related deterioration, and many of them have defects such as staining and fiber embrittlement. For this reason, there are some who do not approve of the mixed use of the term "washi" in the sense of paper made from traditional Japanese raw materials and manufacturing methods.

What you wrote is modern and accurate, but it does not answer the question, "What is washi?
But it is not an answer to the question, "What is washi? However, I can understand how it would come to this.

Since "washi-like paper" is made of wood pulp, this paper refers to "yoshi" as described in Wikipedia, which is not washi but "washi-like paper. However, since it is sold in stores with the word "washi" written on it, an honest person would think that it is washi because it says "washi" on it.
I remember someone saying before, "Japanese paper tears easily! I thought he had never touched the real thing, so I just laughed it off. I laughed it off, thinking that he had never touched the real thing.

To begin with, things related to Japanese tradition have no definition.←Here's the problem.

This is another old story. When I went to a famous sightseeing spot in Kyoto, there was a souvenir shop with a big signboard that said "Chirimen.
I went inside. It's like Kyoto," I thought, and went inside.
But...when I picked them up, I found that they were all polyester and made in China.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you have any silk crape?"
"I don't have it."

What? (°д°) You don't have it? Even though they put up such a big sign? Seriously?

According to my friend, there is no definition of a Japanese room either.

Japanese government,It's fine to use Japanese culture as bait to attract foreign tourists. But this is a problem.
You'll end up with nothing but "just kidding" and no more tourists! Please do something about it by law!