Washi: The Handmade Paper Japan Still Lifts From Cold Running Water

Hold a sheet of handmade Japanese paper up to a window and the light does not stop at the surface. It passes through a web of long, soft fibers, glowing like frosted glass yet feeling strong enough to be folded, stitched, or even worn. This is washi (traditional Japanese paper), a material that has wrapped gifts, carried poetry, covered sliding doors, and repaired famous paintings for well over a thousand years.

This guide explains what washi is made from, how a sheet is formed in a vat of cold water, and why UNESCO recognized the craft in 2014. It also visits the two best-known washi regions, Echizen in Fukui and Mino in Gifu, looks at the many places washi appears in daily Japanese life, and ends with practical tips for finding and buying good paper.

What Makes Washi Different

Washi is made mainly from the inner bark fibers of plants, rather than from wood pulp. The most common source is kozo (paper mulberry), whose long fibers make a tough sheet that behaves more like cloth than ordinary paper and stays strong even when treated to resist water. Mitsumata gives a fine, ivory-colored surface that suits calligraphy and printing, and it has been used for Japanese banknotes since the Meiji period (1868 to 1912). Gampi has a smooth, shiny surface and is prized for books and delicate crafts.

Because the fibers are long and are not shortened by harsh processing, washi is thin yet durable. Traditional production avoids chemical bleaching, and the paper is known for resisting yellowing in sunlight. Papermaking reached Japan from China together with Buddhism, and Japanese makers later developed their own method, called nagashi-zuki, during the Heian period (794 to 1185). That technique produces a sheet that resists tearing, and it remains at the heart of the craft today.

How a Sheet Is Made

The process begins with branches of paper mulberry, which are steamed or boiled, stripped of their outer bark, and dried. The inner fibers are then boiled with an alkaline solution to remove starch, fat, and tannin, and rinsed thoroughly in running water. Some makers bleach the fibers naturally by laying them in a protected stream. Every speck of bark and other impurity is then picked out by hand, and the cleaned fibers are beaten on a stone or board until they separate into a soft pulp.

The pulp is mixed with water in a vat, together with neri, a slippery plant mucilage made from the roots of the tororo-aoi plant. Neri slows the water draining away and keeps the long fibers evenly spread. The papermaker dips a bamboo screen into the vat and rocks it back and forth, a motion called nagashi-zuki, to weave the fibers into a thin, even layer. Without neri the method is called tame-zuki and produces thicker paper. Production has traditionally been winter work, because cold, clean running water keeps the fibers from breaking down, and it was long a source of supplementary income for farming families.

UNESCO Recognition in 2014

In 2014 UNESCO inscribed Washi, craftsmanship of traditional Japanese hand-made paper, on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The listing brought together three traditions that are each designated Important Intangible Cultural Properties in Japan: Sekishu-Banshi, Hon-minoshi, and Hosokawa-shi. It replaced an earlier 2009 listing that had covered only Sekishu-Banshi, the paper of the Iwami region of Shimane Prefecture.

The craft is practiced in three communities: Misumi-cho in Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture; Mino City in Gifu Prefecture; and Ogawa Town and Higashi-chichibu Village in Saitama Prefecture. UNESCO noted that most residents in these places take part in some way, from growing the mulberry to training new makers and promoting washi at home and abroad. Knowledge is passed on through craft families, preservation associations, and local governments, which is why the paper is treated as a living community tradition rather than a museum piece.

Echizen: A Village Devoted to Paper

Echizen, in Fukui Prefecture, is one of Japan's best-known washi towns, with a tradition often described as about 1,500 years old. The center of the craft is the Imadate district. Local belief holds that the art was handed down by the goddess Kawakami Gozen, who is enshrined at the joined Okamoto and Otaki shrines, where she is honored as the deity of paper. The shrine's Gegu main hall and worship hall are a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, and its roof is covered in layered cypress bark.

Twice a year, in spring and autumn, the shrine holds a festival in which the sacred object is carried by portable shrine from the mountain sanctuary down to the lower shrine. The spring festival takes place from 3 to 5 May and includes dances that recall how the goddess passed on the secret of papermaking. Echizen paper was also chosen by the printmaker Hasui Kawase for his landscape prints, a reminder that artists have long sought its quality.

Mino and the Other Regional Papers

Mino, in Gifu Prefecture, produces hon-minoshi, a traditional paper that has long been tied to the town's papermaking heritage and suits uses such as shoji (paper-covered sliding screens) that let in soft light. In Saitama, the Ogawa and Higashi-chichibu area makes hosokawa-shi, and in Shimane the Iwami region makes sekishu-banshi. Each place has its own balance of fibers, water, and technique, and each paper has a recognizable character.

Japan has many other washi centers, and the differences can be seen in the sheets themselves: some are crisp and smooth for printing, others are fibrous and textured for wrapping or decorating, and still others are patterned with flecks, threads, or marbled clouds. A skilled papermaker can also vary the thickness and transparency of a sheet from one batch to the next by adjusting the pulp and the rhythm of the screen.

Washi in Daily Life

Washi has a place in nearly every part of Japanese culture. At Shinto shrines, white paper streamers called shide and the wands called gohei are made from it. In the Heian period, gold- and silver-decorated books on fine paper carried famous poetry collections, and in the Edo period woodblock books and ukiyo-e prints were pulled on washi. Tea practitioners use kaishi, a folded paper, to hold sweets and wipe a bowl, and calligraphers and painters choose specific papers for each style of brushwork.

In the home, washi appears as shoji doors, fusuma (sliding partitions), lantern shades, folding fans, umbrellas, and wrapping paper. Today it is also found in designer lamps, bookbinding, origami, and even washi masking tape, and designers including Issey Miyake and Isamu Noguchi have worked with it. Conservators use thin, strong washi to repair valuable documents and paintings in museums around the world, including the Louvre and the Vatican Museums.

Plan Your Visit

Echizen Washi Village in Fukui is a good place to see the whole process in one place. It is reached by taking the Tokaido Shinkansen to Maibara, then the Hokuriku Main Line to Takefu, and from there it is about 20 minutes by car. Okamoto-Otaki Shrine is also in the area and is worth including for its connection to the paper goddess. Many washi towns offer papermaking workshops where visitors can make a sheet themselves, so check the official tourism pages in advance for hours, reservations, and current fees.

When shopping, hold paper to the light to see the fibers and ask what it is made from, since kozo, mitsumata, and gampi each have a different feel. Stationery, letter sets, and small wrapping sheets are light and pack flat, which makes them ideal gifts. Store washi in a dry place out of direct sun, and handle sheets by the edges to keep the surface clean.