ARTIST YAYOI KUSAMA’S fantastical Mount Fuji scenes are printed on it, designer Yumi Katsura makes bridal gowns from it, and film director David Lynch creates lithographs with it. Called washi, Japanese handcrafted paper can be found in everything from umbrellas and jewelry to coronavirus-blocking face masks. But its history goes back at least 1,300 years.
Traditionally used for scrolls, books, and screens, washi received UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status in 2014, based on the papermaking customs of these three places: Hamada in Shimane Prefecture, Mino in Gifu Prefecture, and Ogawa/Higashi-chichibu in Saitama Prefecture. “The designation wasn’t about washi or the people who make it—it was given to the techniques,” says Takeshi Kano, one of eight artisans qualified to create Honminoshi, Mino’s highest grade of washi. This must be “made entirely…