Special paper is needed to sandwich the gold so that it can be pounded.
Unfortunately, only a handful of master papermakers in Najio village, Hyogo-ken Prefecture, know this art, and all are slowly retiring, with no apprentices to take their places. Displays on the second floor show the amazingly wide application of gold leaf. You see how it was used to cover lacquerware, Kutani-yaki pottery, teapots, jewelry boxes, a go table, an entire fusuma screen, a powder horn, bento boxes, even a kimono. In ancient times, gold was believed to have curative powers, and it was used as a medicine for everything from arthritis to leprosy. Last century, all the best handmade pills were covered in gold foil.