Mino shi, GIFU | 4K Washi Heritage & Historic Udatsu Streets

Thank you for stepping back into Verses between steps. Today, we journey to Mino City in Gifu Prefecture, a place universally renowned for its traditional Mino Washi paper. As frequently featured on this channel, Mino is also famous for its historic streets adorned with “Udatsu”—Edo-period firewalls. This town amassed immense wealth through the production of high-quality Washi paper. The Udatsu walls became a proud symbol of that financial prosperity. Today, these 300-year-old merchant houses still stand beautifully, preserved and meticulously restored over generations. While modern mass-produced Western paper has largely replaced Washi in everyday Japanese life—relegating it to special occasions—the spirit of Washi lives on here. Crafted into delicate paper lanterns that perfectly complement the historic streets, it continues to illuminate the city’s annual festivals. Join us as we explore these beautifully preserved, 300-year-old traditional homes. Please turn on Closed Captions (CC) for English subtitles. If you enjoyed this journey, please give us a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel to join us on our next step!