'Washi' Paper-Making Tradition Inscribed On U.N. Heritage List

HIGASHICHICHIBU, JAPAN - NOVEMBER 27: Officials and craftsmen of "hosokawa-shi" paper, celebrate the designation of "washi" as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage on November 27, 2014 in Higashichichibu, Saitama, Japan. Japan's traditional art of making "washi" paper has been officially added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, giving the millennium-old craft fresh attention as the country's latest U.N.-recognized asset. Three types of washi will be added to the UNESCO list: "sekishu-banshi" paper made in Hamada, Shimane Prefecture; "honmino-shi" from Mino, Gifu Prefecture; and "hosokawa-shi" from Ogawa and Higashichichibu in Saitama Prefecture. The first type was registered on its own in 2009. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)