Experience 1,300 Years of Craft with All Five Senses
The Mino Washi Cultural Center is the ideal gateway to learn about—and try—Mino washi, a papermaking tradition with 1,300 years of history.
Through clear, hands-on displays, the center traces the craft from its origins to today, showing how local expertise grew into one of Japan’s most celebrated paper traditions.
Exhibits lead you through every stage of making washi—from raw materials and tools to sheet-forming—so you can see how paper-mulberry (kōzo) fibers become strong, beautifully translucent paper.
Traditional nagashi-zuki (gently rocking the vat to spread fibers evenly) and sun-drying on wooden boards reveal why Mino washi achieves its distinctive purity and glow.
The highlight is the papermaking workshop.
Guided by instructors, visitors of all ages can make their own sheet of washi, feeling the fibers respond in a wooden frame as patterns emerge and the water drains away.
It’s a rare, tactile way to understand the craft—not just by looking, but by seeing, touching, making, and taking a piece home once it dries.
After your workshop, browse the on-site shop for washi goods: stationery and greeting cards, lampshades, interior items, and art pieces that showcase the material’s range.
Bringing washi into daily life is part of the experience—supporting local artisans while finding something you’ll actually use.
Mino washi is renowned not only for its beauty but also for its durability and neutrality, which is why it is valued in museum conservation and recognized internationally on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2014).
A visit here turns that global recognition into a personal, hands-on memory—easy to pair with nearby Udatsu Old Town and the Mino Washi Akari Art Museum.
