Mino Washi - Paper Art in Japan

The wooden-fronted buildings of Mino, so modest in their simple beauty, hide glowing treasures inside just waiting to be discovered. I had come away for the weekend with Yoko and her daughter En, new friends in Japan, for two days to see how the artists here are using handmade paper, to experience my first Onsen (hot springs) bath, and to stay in a traditional Japanese Inn. Lucky me.

This town is famous for handmade Washi paper due in part to the purity of the water from the river that runs nearby. Consequently it draws artists who have taken that material and created beautiful sculptural lamps and lanterns of every shape and design possible. As a designer-maker working with light and paper, it was a treat to come and explore.

We started in the Mino Washi 'Akari' Art Gallery - a beautiful vaulted timber-roofed exhibition space filled with the soft glow of these ethereal artworks.

A large image in the gallery of a lighting exhibition held outside in the streets of Mino - looks so magical...