Sendai Yanagiu Handmade Washi

Handmade paper from Yanagiu, Sendai, carries a papermaking tradition of around four centuries. Sendai Yanagiu Handmade Washi brings that continuing craft into everyday life. At Soi YIPUN, we introduce original hand-painted postcards and pochi-bukuro gift envelopes made with this washi, or Japanese handmade paper.

Papermaking Rooted in the Time of Date Masamune

According to the workshop’s official history, papermaking took root in Yanagiu when Date Masamune, the founding lord of the Sendai domain, invited four skilled papermakers to the area. Abundant groundwater and dry winds from the mountains helped make it a suitable place to form and dry sheets of paper.

At its height, more than 400 households in Yanagiu and the surrounding area are said to have made paper for a living. Today, the Sendai Yanagiu Washi workshop is the one remaining workshop carrying on this local craft.

A Craft Carried On by One Workshop

The workshop continues to make washi by hand using natural materials. Its papermaking uses kozo, or paper mulberry, fibres together with liquid obtained from the roots of tororo-aoi. The workshop and its tools remain part of the craft passed down through the generations.

Look closely at the paper and you can see fibres across the paper’s surface and subtle variations along its edges. The paper brings its own character to the images and words it holds.

Washi for Everyday Life

The selection introduced at Soi YIPUN includes four postcard designs, each painted individually as an original, and pochi-bukuro gift envelopes with a red-and-white knot decoration. Cats, a flower and lettering appear on the postcards, bringing colour to the white paper and its visible texture.

Original postcard illustrations, individually painted rather than printed, by Kotori of Kotori Shoten.

What Is a Pochi-bukuro?

A pochi-bukuro is a small Japanese envelope used to present a gift of money. It is familiar as the envelope for otoshidama, the money given to children at New Year, and is also used for small gifts of thanks. These envelopes can be enjoyed beyond New Year, including as wrapping for a small present.

The pochi-bukuro introduced here pairs white handmade washi with a red-and-white knot decoration, making the paper itself part of the gift.

Display a postcard in a small frame, or use a pochi-bukuro to present a small gift of thanks. These products offer a way to enjoy a continuing papermaking tradition in everyday life.

Reference for the history and materials: Sendai Yanagiu Washi workshop official website.

Explore the history behind this craft in our Japanese Culture story, Yanagiu Washi: Four Centuries of Papermaking in Sendai.