Mino, Gifu Prefecture — Founded 1876

Eisuke Matsuhisa Paper Shop

One hundred and fifty years in Mino: the warmth of Mino washi, the handmade paper of Japan, spun from the hands of its artisans. We offer pieces that keep company with contemporary life and widen what such paper may become.

Founded in 1876 in the city of Mino, Gifu Prefecture, the Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Shop is a long-established wholesaler dealing in Mino washi, born of the bounty of the Nagara River. For one hundred and fifty years we have held to wares made wholly in Japan and wholly by hand. With our shop set among streets of udatsu-crowned merchant houses — the raised fire-break parapets of the old trading quarter — we do not merely keep the tradition, but propose new forms suited to present-day living, among them paper thread and socks. Pursuing the warmth of washi and its boundless possibilities, we send forth from Mino, to the wider world, a varied range of goods that let the material speak for itself.

01Location01: Mino Shi, Japan

01Location01: Mino Shi, Japan

01 — From the Proprietor

Mino washi, and nothing else, for a hundred and fifty years.

The Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Shop was founded in 1876 in the city of Mino, Gifu Prefecture, cradled by green mountains and the clear waters of the Nagara River. In 2026 we mark one hundred and fifty years, having kept without interruption to the handwork of Mino washi, sustained to this day by customers throughout the country. Alongside the wholesale of washi, we now devote ourselves to developing new washi products, gentle to the environment and close to daily life. Holding to what is made in Japan, we hope, through paper thread and small goods carefully made by our artisans, to bring the warmth of Mino washi nearer at hand.

May you come to know the quality of the material for yourself — and, if you will, make your way to the village of Mino, rich with the gifts of its clear river, to feel true washi in person.

松久

Proprietor, Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Shop松久永助紙店店主Mino, Gifu Prefecture

02 — Mino, Home of Washi

The Tradition of Washi Nurtured in Mino, and Its New Forms

Blessed by the clear waters of the Nagara River, Mino has made paper by hand for more than four hundred years. Born of delicate handwork, “Mino washi” is today indispensable even to the restoration of cultural properties. Keeping faith with tradition, Mino washi continues to evolve into forms that accompany contemporary life.

About the City of Mino

美濃市について

The city of Mino, in Gifu Prefecture, is a place of long history, flourishing on the making of washi for more than four hundred years. With the abundant Nagara River as its artery of transport, it carried paper of the highest quality throughout the country. The emblem of this city is the udatsu, the firewall raised upon the roof to guard a house from flame — and, in its day, a token of a merchant's wealth. Here traditions carried down from long ago are kept, and washi lives on still: this is its home.

The Character of Mino Washi

美濃和紙の特徴

Born of pure water and a manner of sheet-forming all its own, Mino washi is thin yet remarkably strong and enduring. In 2014, the technique of Hon-Mino-shi — the highest of its methods of making — was inscribed upon UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Beyond objects of craft, it is widely known as usu-Mino, the gossamer-thin sheet indispensable to the restoration of cultural property the world over. Today the art of machine-formed paper has advanced as well, and drawing upon the wisdom of tradition, work of high quality continues across a wide range of fields.

On Washi Thread

和紙糸とは

In a region where cotton and silk were once precious, farmers began to make use of old, discarded paper: this was the beginning of washi thread. For washi thread, hemp fibre serves as the raw material, and a papermaking machine produces a sheet at once thin, strong, and even. Cut to widths of a tenth of a millimetre and given several hundred turns of twist, it becomes a thread both sturdy and supple.

03 — The Mino Washi of Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Shop

Assured Quality, and New Possibility

Mino washi is proof of tradition and of assured quality. We seek to widen its possibilities through washi thread, light and pleasant to the touch, with the virtues of deodorising and of regulating moisture. A sustainable material, gentle to those who use it and to the world alike, it lends richness and colour to modern life. Its possibility and its warmth, we offer to your days.

The Mino Washi of Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Shop

松久永助紙店の美濃和紙

Our washi bears the certification of the Mino Washi Brand Cooperative — an assurance that it is paper of high quality, having passed the association's own exacting standards. The classifications are three: Hon-Mino-shi, handmade washi, and machine-made washi. Among them, Hon-Mino-shi, formed by certified artisans according to a prescribed method, is the paper of highest rank, inscribed upon UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This mark of certification is proof of the tradition we have inherited and of quality assured.

The Mino Washi Thread of Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Shop

松久永助紙店の美濃和紙糸

Our washi thread weighs about a third of cotton, and carries a supple firmness and resilience. Excellent in absorbing and releasing moisture and in breathing, and possessed of deodorising, antibacterial, warming, and moisture-holding qualities, it stays comfortable to the touch throughout the year. It resists abrasion and holds static electricity in check, and with each washing it settles closer to the skin. Biodegradable, returning at last to the earth, it is a deeply sustainable material that honours both the body of the one who wears it and the world in which we live.

The Possibilities of Mino Washi Thread

美濃和紙糸の可能性

In 1982 we obtained a patent for washi thread, and have pursued its possibilities ever since. Beyond its role in everyday goods, it now extends to fine woven textiles and to innerwear in which its comfort is felt directly against the skin — products that attend upon every scene of contemporary life.

04 — History

One Hundred and Fifty Years, Handed Down

A long-established wholesaler of Mino washi, now in its fourth generation

1876

Matsuhisa Eisuke, the second of the line, set out on his own as a wholesaler of shoji paper and raw materials. He extended his trade to Kyoto, Osaka and Edo, and while devoting himself to the washi wholesale business, he also laboured for the advancement of the town of Mino — founding a bank, bringing in the railway.

1934

Matsuhisa Eisuke, the third of the line, established Daifuku Paper Manufacturing Co., Ltd. for the making of machine-formed washi. Producing mimeograph stencil paper and base papers for gold and silver thread, he opened the way to papermaking by machine in answer to the demands of the age.

1941

The enterprise was reorganised as Matsuhisa Eisuke Paper Co., Ltd. Holding to a commitment to Mino washi in all its stages, and sustained by many customers throughout the country, the house built the foundation it stands upon today.

1990

The building across the way, once a paper-finishing workshop, was remodelled into an office and showroom. The head clerk's desk was left as it stood, and has become something of an emblem.

2001

Matsuhisa Toyotaro assumed the presidency as the fourth head of the house. Inheriting the tradition, he brought forth wares that keep company with contemporary life — socks and small goods of washi among them. These products, pursuing all that the material might become, are held in high regard abroad as well.

2026

We reach the great milestone of a hundred and fifty years since our founding. Keeping the buildings that have stood since the Meiji era, and devoting ourselves without interruption to Mino washi, we continue to propose ways of bringing the paper closer to daily use, carrying its appeal on to the next generation.

05 — Visit

A Visit to the Paper Shop

Address

Eisuke Matsuhisa Paper Shop Motosumi-cho 1929 Mino-shi, Gifu 501-3728

松久永助紙店〒501-3728 岐阜県美濃市本住町1929

Opening hours

SunClosed

Mon–Fri09:00–17:00

SatClosed

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