During the Edo Period various types of Japanese paper were produced in Nishiyama, and the name Nishiyama washi (hand made Japanese paper) has been passed down. Gassan washi was originally an off shoot of Nishiyama washi and is made in the Iwanesawa district of Nishikawa, situated at an entrance to Mt. Gassan, where there is a large shrine called Iwanesawa sanzan Shrine (formerly Nichigatsu Temple) and a community of guesthouses.