Nao Tesuki Washi: 300 Years of Papermaking Culture Sustained by the Kaji Tree

2026.02.12

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#Craftsman

#Nao Washi

#Saga

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#History

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Nestled in the mountainous Nao district of Saga Prefecture, Nao Tesuki Washi is a craft that has been passed down for approximately 330 years. They are a rare find, cultivating their own kaji (paper mulberry), the raw material for washi, then making the paper and even developing it into final products. Their free-spirited creativity, which transcends the traditional craft framework, and their knack for utilizing local materials are shedding new light on the future of washi. We talked to Gen Taniguchi, who sees washi as "something to be enjoyed," about his philosophy, his craft, and the future Nao Tesuki Washi is shaping.

PROFILE

Gen Taniguchi

Born in Saga Prefecture in 1990. He graduated from the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Sociology at Kansai University.

After a stint in the fashion industry, he took over his family's business as the seventh-generation head of Nao Tesuki Washi, a washi workshop with a history stretching back over 300 years to the Edo period. Alongside preserving this tradition, he also produces his own work as an artist.

Based in Saga, he has held solo exhibitions and participated in group shows across Japan and internationally, following his work as KMNR™.

The Roots of Nao Tesuki Washi: Born from Farmers' Ingenuity

The story of Nao Tesuki Washi began around 330 years ago when local farmers brought back papermaking techniques from Chikugo in Fukuoka. The Nao area has very little flat land, making it tough to live on farming alone. Papermaking was a new skill they learned to make up for the scarcity of arable land.

The discovery that the native kaji trees were perfect as a raw material helped foster Nao's unique washi culture.

Making paper, finding customers, creating business opportunities—they had to handle it all. This fostered an "open workshop culture" in Nao from early on. A history of collaborating with artisans, such as lantern makers, to fine-tune the paper's thickness and texture for different applications continues to inform their co-creative spirit today.

The essence of Nao Tesuki Washi isn't a stiff-necked determination to preserve tradition, but a natural approach of "simply continuing to make paper as an extension of our lives."