The Paper Museum was founded 1950, in the area of Tokyo known as Oji, which is known as the birthplace of Western Paper in Japan. It used of the building of Oji Paper Co., Ltd.’s Oji Mill, but later it was decided to move to a location in Asukayama Park, and the new Museum opened in 1998.

While this museum passes on historical materials detailing the progress of Japan’s western paper industry, it has also aggressively collected material about washi (Japanese paper), from the time the museum was founded. By respecting the technology and culture of washi that has been passed down from long ago, and studying the technology and history of both washi and western paper, the Museum has aimed for the further development of Japanese paper industry.

This year marks the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the Museum so we decided to open a special collections exhibit. We hereby introduce important items held by the Paper Museum, which has operated with the doctrine of learning from history.