NIIGATA, Japan >> Paper balloons are a regional specialty of Izumozaki in Niigata prefecture, where they have been produced for more than 100 years. Traditionally, fishing is the main industry of this little town facing the Sea of Japan, but there are many winter days when fishermen cannot sail because of rough seas.

“In 1919, the first president of our company started making paper balloons as a side job during winter,” said Shigeko Isono, 71, the fourth president of paper balloon manufacturer Isono Kamifusen Seizojo.

Today, the company’s paper balloons are still made the same way, using glassine paper, a glossy pulp-based product.

The paper is cut into boat-shaped pieces, eight of which are glued together to make a sphere. A piece of paper glued to the bottom seals the orb; another piece with an air hole is secured at the top.

Several steps of the production process is outsourced primarily to Niigata artisans. This tradition is a remnant of the days when work was shared in the fishing town during the winter. The system is tailored to the layout of Izumozaki, where houses are generally located along a main street by the sea.

“When you’ve done your part, you take it to the next house,” Isono said. “In this town, every household knew someone in the family or in the neighborhood who was involved in making paper balloons. It was pretty common to see people gluing paper or drying paper balloons near the entrances of their houses.”

Isono’s husband, Shinya, was the third president of the company. When they married in 1987, children’s entertainment was already dominated by video games and toys manufactured by major companies. At the time, their company made only two types of paper balloon, the traditional multicolor type and another printed with a poem by Ryokan, a Zen Buddhist monk who was born in the town in 1758.

The Isonos decided to increase the variety of products, hoping new designs would stand out at shops. One day while cleaning their office, they found a paper balloon shaped like a goldfish, made for export before World War II. They agreed to restart production of the finned balloons.

Shigeko Isono vividly remembers the day nearly 30 years ago when they relaunched the goldfish balloons.

“It coincided with Sports Day at (our son’s) school … when he was in first grade,” Isono said. “The night before, my husband and I stayed up all night preparing the goldfish balloons. We delivered them to shops and then went to the school. During a break, we received a phone call: … ‘All sold out. Bring some more.’”

Excited by the good response, their company went on to expand their designs to feature carp and the Japanese crested ibis, both popular animals in Niigata.

Since her husband’s death, Isono is responsible for designing new balloons.

“Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and start making designs,” she said. One new item is the jellyfish balloon.

There are now almost 60 varieties, sold at souvenir shops and other stores, with prices starting at 150 yen (about $1).

Over the years, competitors have closed up shop.

Isono believes hers is the only surviving paper balloon company.

Though the products have long been regarded as cheap gifts, more recently, paper balloons have been garnering more respect.

In May 2022, handmade paper balloons in Izumozaki were included among 14 traditional crafts of Niigata. The prefecture’s website introduces them as “the only one of its kind produced in the country.”

Last year, Isono Kamifusen Seizojo launched a paper balloon workshop aboard East Japan Railway Co.’s luxury train Shikishima, which caters to tourists.

The products are also put to practical use, with athletes using paper balloons in their training. It takes control not to crush a paper balloon in their hands while working out.

“There is freedom in the designs of … paper balloons” and how to use them, Isono said. “There may come a time when they get used for some unexpected purposes, which I look forward to seeing.”