With more than a thousand-year-old natural material and technique, each piece of washi (traditional Japanese paper) is handmade by a craftsperson. With the inner skins of trees called Kozo, Mitsumata and Ganpi as the main materials, thickener extracted from Aibika is added before the paper-screening process, which is done in a method unique to Japan, called "Nagashi-Suki." Paper made by Nagashi-Suki is said to be the most thin and durable in the world, showing no deterioration for more than a hundred years and used for the restoration of damaged ancient documents and cultural assets in many countries. "Wa" of washi signifies Japan, as well as harmony. This spirit runs through the production of washi as our ancestors' wisdom, making washi one of the handicrafts that symbolize Japan.

The home of Yanagiu Washi, Yanagiu in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, has been a large production area for washi since the Edo period (1603­–1868), blessed with ideal conditions for making paper—abundant water and dry wind for drying paper coming down from Mt. Takadate. Requiring a lot of work before the fiber screening process, Yanagiu Washi has a unique texture and strength, which comes from the long fiber of kozo. When it is processed to further enhance durability, it is called Kamiko, which was the designated paper for the Date clan's official documents, used also for the clothes of monks, outfits of the samurai, and later for umbrellas, screens, and all scenes of everyday life. Although there were more than 400 paper-making farmers in Yanagiu in its heyday, there is only one left—a precious heir of the technique.