Enchanting Light Reveals the Beauty of Washi
Located within Udatsu Old Town, the Mino Washi Akari Art Museum presents prize-winning works from the annual Mino Washi Akari Art Exhibition each autumn.
Soft, warm light filtering through handmade washi turns a restored traditional townhouse into an immersive, dreamlike gallery where paper and illumination meet—creating subtle gradations of light and shadow that photographs can’t fully capture.
At the heart of the experience is Mino washi—inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2014).
Made primarily from paper-mulberry (kōzo) fibers, Mino washi is prized for its strength, translucence, and purity—qualities that respond beautifully to light and also make it a trusted material in museum conservation worldwide.
The museum’s collection and special displays range from lantern-like traditional pieces to contemporary light installations, revealing how artisans and artists keep reinventing washi’s possibilities.
Selected award-winning works are shown year-round, so you can encounter the Akari art outside the festival season as well.
After viewing the exhibits, browse the museum shop for washi goods, then wander the surrounding Udatsu streets—historic merchant houses where the gentle glow of paper lamps feels perfectly at home.
It’s an intimate way to understand why Mino’s paper has been cherished for centuries.
