Gold and silver dust pictures are a form of decoration for all sorts of different kinds of items that has been used over a long period of Japanese history. In this process, unique to Japan, gold and silver foil is made into a fine powder or is cut into fine, string-like, grass-like sheets and used to decorate transcribed copies of sutras, picture scrolls, paper sliding doors (a kind of furniture unique to Japan primarily used as sliding doors), folding screens (used to block wind and section off parts of rooms so that they cannot be seen, as well as for decorative purposes), and as covers for books. Using traditional techniques passed down since the end of the Heian period (794-c.1190), many subtle works brimming with originality are produced here in Taito Ward.