Imagine a place where the paper used by students comes from a mill just down the road, and where wedding photos are all printed on locally made paper. That's exactly what fired the imaginations of the people of Nakatomi-cho after they decided that traditional papermaking was the best way to show their love for their hometown.

One of the first things we saw as we entered Nakatomi was a giant billboard showing a young girl holding "Nishijima washi" (Nishijima-style traditional Japanese paper). After parking our car and rounding a corner, we came to the Nakatomi Museum of Contemporary Fine Craft. A strikingly beautiful structure, the museum houses a collection of different types of traditional paper from throughout Japan. Arrayed along the same street is a warren of very artsy shops displaying lanterns, umbrellas, carbon air-filters wrapped in washi, business card holders, purses, and many other items made from washi and featuring a very stylistic, modernistic design.

"We all wanted to build a washi museum so that visitors could buy more than just our locally made Nishijima washi. We wanted them to be able to learn about all sorts of traditional Japanese paper from around the whole country. We wanted them to see how shops can be run almost like museums, and to see the different kinds of washi crafts that have evolved in connection with all sorts of different holiday customs." So says Masaru Maruyama, who lives on the banks of the Fuji River and has been involved in the Nakatomi-cho community building movement for two decades.

In the past, the Nishijima washi made in Nakatomi-cho was used mostly for brush calligraphy. Beyond that, the people of Nakatomi pretty much only used it for fancy envelopes. But in order to keep pace with the changing times, they're finding new applications for washi paper from Nakatomi-cho, including computer paper, cake and cookie boxes, and the labels used at the largest distillery in Yamanashi Prefecture. "This branching out shows that a new way of thinking is taking root in Nakatomi-cho. It shows that we can hope for success in our collective efforts to revitalize the local economy, and can start thinking bigger."

In response to the changing times, the artisans of Nakatomi-cho have developed lots of stylishly designed new products to make from Nishijima washi. These dolls sell quite well.

Located in southern Yamanashi Prefecture, Nakatomi-cho is noted for its Nishijima washi, one of the best types of paper for brush calligraphy. The town covers 43 square kilometers, of which some 70% is mountain forests. All arable land (less than 6%) is very carefully tended by the local residents. After sericulture was introduced during the Meiji period (late 19th century), a papermaking industry began to grow up. The production of traditional paper became a mainstay of the local economy. At its height, hand-made Nishijima washi from Nakatomi accounted for almost half of all the gasenshi paper (more commonly known as gampi paper) sold on the market in Tokyo.

According to Maruyama, "We've been making washi in Nakatomi-cho for hundreds of years, but the market for Nishijima washi has begun to decline recently due to the introduction of inexpensive paper from mainland China, South Korea, and Taiwan. One paper mill after another has closed down." A native of Nakatomi, Maruyama heads a prefectural youth activity center called Shizen no Sato. He relates: "Japan began attaching greater importance to local development some time around 1980, and that's when we started with our first embryonic efforts at community building in Nakatomi. Local people decided they wanted to develop new uses for washi paper to keep our paper industry alive. Someone suggested making the graduation certificates for our local schools out of locally produced washi paper, and it seemed like a really good idea to everybody."

It was in perhaps 1983 when Kyozo Mochizuki, principal of the local junior high school, hit upon the idea of launching an activity for making graduation certificates from hand-made paper, and using this to spur revitalization of the local paper industry. He asked professional papermakers to help out.

In response to the changing times, the artisans of Nakatomi-cho have developed lots of stylishly designed new products to make from Nishijima washi. These dolls sell quite well.

People got excited and started brainstorming, out of which emerged an idea to have local school kids plant rice paper plants (Edgeworthia chrysantha). Maruyama recalls: "We decided to have students all plant three rice paper plants upon entering junior high school. By the time graduation rolled around three years later, each student would be able to harvest the three plants and use them to make traditional paper by hand. Then they would use their paper to make their own graduation certificates, again by hand. We thought it would be a nice memory for them." The youth department of the Nishijima Hand-Made Paper Association (NHPA), keen to do its part for local industry, lent enthusiastic support to the project by studying how to make washi paper.

Rice paper plants, which had been declining in numbers, were suddenly making a comeback, as school kids cared lovingly for them in their schoolyard. As graduation neared, students peeled and boiled the bark under the guidance of the NHPA youth department. The first attempts were not too successful. Much of the paper was badly wrinkled, or curled stubbornly and could not be laid out flat. Some of it was very blemished. But the students and faculty kept at it, and after two years finally succeeded in turning out paper of consistently high quality for their graduation certificates.

Almost all certificates for students graduating from kindergarten, elementary, and junior high school in Nakatomi-cho are now made of washi paper. Officials from Bunkyo University have even come all the way out from Tokyo to have their school's graduation diplomas made in Nakatomi-cho!

These women are learning various arts and crafts at the school's auditorium, using bamboo, rice straw, and pine branches to make the kadomatsu (doorway pines) with which the Japanese decorate their entrances at New Year. The decoration expresses a wish for good fortune.

The deeply committed paper manufacturers in Nakatomi-cho have also contributed in a big way to the townspeople's success with the diplomas. Shinji Kasai, who runs the Mitsuishi Paper Mill, feels that "washi paper is a deeply meaningful cultural tradition in Nakatomi-cho," and has his sights set on making the best paper in all of Japan. He adds with great earnestness: "Besides making paper myself, I also personally give courses where people get a chance to try their hand at making washi paper. I like to let kids get a feel for all that goes into every single sheet of hand-made paper. When they learn to design their own washi paper, it gives them a better feel for aesthetic beauty."

The papermaking classes are taught in both the public school system and as part of adult education programs. Every weekend when the town hall opens the door to the papermaking facilities, out-of-towners throng in to try their hand at papermaking. Here they squat down on the lawn, peeling bark. There they timidly take the long rectangular screen in hand and swish it back and forth in the scalding hot water to get the pulp evenly distributed, and take back home a nicely executed sheet of Nishijima washi paper.

The head of the adult papermaking classes enthuses: "Since paper plays such an important role in human society, it's good for people to get a feel for how it's made." He is especially happy that the revival of the town's papermaking industry is giving old folks there a useful way to spend their time. That's why he never tires of organizing one papermaking class after another: "We encourage senior citizens to plant rice paper plants in land that's gone fallow. These old folks are expert farmers, and they've got something to offer these out-of-towners who come in for our papermaking classes, which we hold two days a week for adults."

In response to the changing times, the artisans of Nakatomi-cho have developed lots of stylishly designed new products to make from Nishijima washi. These dolls sell quite well.

Papermaking instructor Hidekazu Mochizuki adds: "It's not easy to make washi paper. Every time you mess up, you have to start all over again. But taking part in the entire process gives a real feeling of accomplishment, and it gets a person interested in other types of handicrafts as well." With a population of less than 50,000, a third of whom are over age 65, it is not easy for a town like Nakatomi to hold on to the type of young craftsman who is willing to spend years there learning the art of papermaking, and who is able to achieve significant success in the endeavor.

In an effort to stem the outward migration of local youth, Nakatomi-cho adopted an economic development strategy called "integration of work and residence." Under this strategy, the town hall encourages local residents to buy stock in "Nakatomi-cho Co., Ltd." The town hall also lends its support by building and selling two-story housing at subsidized prices. The work to revive the Nishijima washi industry is part of a larger effort to make Nakatomi-cho a better place to live.

The Nakatomi town hall owns several buses, ambulances, and school buses. All bus tickets cost the same price. The idea behind all of this is to make it safe to get around town for the area's many elderly residents. On the other end of the demographic spectrum, the town also has a youth activity center called Shizen no Sato, where the area's young can go to learn all about the entire papermaking process.

Maruyama says that he is placing his hopes in youth, who have energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of mission.

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of local residents to develop new papermaking methods and expanded papermaking education, more and more kids in Nakatomi-cho are getting the opportunity to experience what it's like to make washi paper. This in turn has instilled in them a greater appreciation of the value of things, and the need to protect and preserve them. Perhaps the gentle essence of washi paper could be likened to a steady spring breeze that brings out the finest in us all. When a resident of Nakatomi-cho writes a letter on a sheet of washi paper, how could the recipient, even a stranger they've never seen before, possibly fail to appreciate the sincerity of the words?

Sanpoku-machi in Japan's Niigata Prefecture was once just another sleepy little town, but now the residents have established themselves as pioneers of a new approach to community building. The town's beautiful natural scenery has made it a famous tourist destination.