Mima wagasa, Japanese umbrellas produced in Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture, are hand-crafted using traditional techniques dating back to the late Edo period (1800-1868). Made of bamboo from the Yoshino River coast and Awa washi paper, the typical Mima umbrella is highly durable, practical, and suitable for everyday use. Local craftsmen also made more decorative types of wagasa, such as ornamental Janome umbrellas, small parasols, and indigo-dyed umbrellas. Mima was an important center of natural indigo manufacture, and indigo-dyed umbrellas required an especially high level of skill. Mima wagasa have a profound beauty in their 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.