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[09] The Home of Spirits and Paper |
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Learn about the development of washi paper with the map of the paper-making Echizen area found at the museum entrance.
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Washi paper is produced in the Imadate area of Echizen city, mainly in the Goka area consisting of the five towns of Otaki, Iwamoto, Oizu, Shinzaike, and Sadatomo, centered around the Okamoto river.
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Even among the parts of Japan that produce washi paper, this area is noteworthy for its long history and the legend of how paper-making came to be.
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Some 1,500 years ago, a woman appeared on the upper reaches of the Okamoto river. "The valley this village is located in means that it has little room for fields, making it difficult to make a living here. However, the river's water is pure and the mountains are full of natural riches - if you were to make paper here, making a living would be simple," she said, and then taught how to make paper. The villagers, overjoyed, asked her, "Who are you?" She responded, "I live upstream on the Okamoto river," and with that she vanished. Since then, the villagers have venerated this beautiful woman as Kawakami Gozen, and Okamoto Shrine is dedicated to her as the patron goddess of paper. |
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Okamoto Shrine & Otaki Shrine
Built in 1843
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This nationally designated Important Cultural Property consists of a connected haiden front shrine and honden main shrine at the top of Mount Gongen (together forming the inner shrine), as well as the lower shrine located in its foothills. Pictured here is the honden main shrine of the inner shrine.
As Japan's only shrines dedicated to the "goddess of paper," Okamoto Shrine and Otaki Shrine are among Echizen's most famous sightseeing destinations.
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Kawakami Gozen, Japan's only "goddess of paper."
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| Floor Map |
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