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Handcrafted paper
Recognised by Unesco as an item of Intangible Cultural Heritage, washi is an artisan-made paper that's at once textured and robust. It's made of long mulberry plant fibres - as opposed to pulp, which is the norm for regular paper - making it resistant to tear. A cultural centre dedicated to the craft, Ozu Washi was established in 1653 in Nihonbashi, and offers papermaking workshops, a museum with historic artifacts and a shop with hundreds of washi sheets in pastel colours.