Mima Wagasa (Mima Japanese umbrella)

Mima Wagasa, produced in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, is a Japanese umbrella produced using traditional techniques dating from the late Edo period (1800-1868). Made of madake bamboo from the Yoshino River coast and Awa Washi paper, it is highly durable and functional as a rain umbrella. As called “Awa-bangasa,” it is mainly a rain umbrella for daily use with an emphasis on practicality, but there are also a variety of other types, such as a decorated Janome umbrella and a small parasol. Among them, the “indigo-dyed umbrella” requires a high level of skill. It has a profound beauty in its simplicity, and the unique scent of oil on the umbrella paper and the sound of raindrops falling on the umbrella create a uniquely old Japanese atmosphere.
In the Mima-cho district, where around 200 wagasa stores lined the streets around 1955, a “Mima Wagasa Production Group” was established by citizen volunteers to revive the Mima Wagasa, which is now being produced and exhibited at the “Mima City Traditional Craft Experience Center Mirai Kobo Studio”.