Takakuni Kawahara

Birudan Washi Paper, along with Gokayama Washi and Yatsuo Washi, is one of only 3 traditional washi-style paper producers in the Echu Region of northwestern Japan to be officially designated by the Cabinet Minister of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as an honored traditional craft back in 1988.
Currently the sole successor of the Birudan Washi Paper crafting tradition, Takakuni Kawahara, studied under the renowned master, Torakichi Yoneoka, prior to his retirement in 2002.
Birudani Washi Paper has won numerous awards and accolades for its superior and masterful craftsmanship both nationally and abroad.