Woodworking Crafts
High-quality wood abounds in Fukushima. Accordingly, woodworking crafts employing fine-quality wood have been used extensively in daily life for centuries. Aizu-nuri lacquerware, which first appeared around 1590 under the Aizu clan's patronage and as part of the clan's promotion of industry, is a traditional prefectural product. One type of Aizu-nuri lacquerware, Kingin Nashiji-nuri, is especially treasured and is known throughout the nation. Other well-known products are Hinoemata Village's Mage-Wappa boxes made from thin pieces of Hinoki (cypress), which have been used as daily utensils and agricultural implements for centuries, as well as traditional furniture from Nihonmatsu City, which features the natural texture of Keyaki (zelkova wood) . The prefecture also produces traditional wooden toys, such as Miharu-goma horse toys from Miharu Town and Tsuchiyu Kokeshi dolls from Fukushima City.

Pottery
Aizu Hongo-yaki pottery is the oldest in the Tohoku region, possessing a 350-year history. Its techniques, originating from potters invited from the Seto district of Owari in central Japan by the lord of the Aizu clan, are represented today by more than 10 kilns located in Aizu-Wakamatsu City. Soma-yaki pottery is one of the traditional crafts in the Hama-dori district; pottery from Soma City is called Soma Komayaki, while that produced in Namie Town is called Obori Soma-yaki. With origins stretching far into the past, Soma-yaki is characterized by ao-hibi (fine blue cracks on the surface), and by pictures of horses known as hashiri-uma. Nihonmatsu Banko-yaki is another, rare type of pottery, featuring patterns created by the craftsman's fingers and hands.

Textiles
Kawamata Habutae silk made in Kawamata Town, believed to have been in production since the mid-6th century, features a graceful gloss and a feather touch texture. Showa Village offers Karamushi-ori textile, made from fibers of the Karamushi plant, which is processed just as it was 600 years ago. And Iwaki City's E-nobori picture banners, made from cotton textile, celebrate the birth of boys; each is four to seven meters long and features the picture of a samurai Warrior.

Japanese Paper
Fukushima Prefecture is blessed with abundant, pure water, which has been a great advantage to the centuries-old tradition of high-quality paper-making. The deep and delicate texture that is characteristic of Japanese paper has won renewed appreciation in recent times; the Kamikawasaki area of Adachi Town, for instance, known for its 1,000-year-old tradition in paper-making, even became the subject of a popular novel. Iwaki City's Japanese paper dolls are another example of the prefecture's paper products. Additional well-known folk crafts that employ Japanese paper include Hariko-ningyo papier-mache dolls from Miharu Town, Akabeko (red cow) dolls from Aizu-Wakamatsu City, and Shirakawa-daruma dolls from Shirakawa City.

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