Washi in gift-giving White materials have been associated with purity in many cultures.
Paper is no exception.
Washi as well as rice was offered to the gods. When paper was still a precious substance, the custom of sending washi as a gift was born. In the Edo period, a custom of sending flowers as gifts took root in the world of flower arrangement. Called hana-tsutsumi, flowers were wrapped with special washi paper and tied with ornamental strings, as seen in the illustration on the left. Depending on the kinds of flowers, papers were carefully selected and folded into strictly fixed patterns.