Skip to main content
Entoten
FacebookInstagramPinterestYouTube

Menu

Skip to content
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Artists
  • Places
  • Press
Sign In Search

Recent Posts

  • Eat, Sleep, Shave Wood: The Extraordinary Life of Woodworker Okubo Kotaro November 24, 2023
  • Hyakunin Isshu Karuta No. 23 by Chieko October 30, 2023
  • Four Tea bowls by Satoshi YOSHIKAWA: A Japanese Potter in Toronto October 20, 2023
  • Kikusumi: Chrysanthemum Charcoal by Kotani Yoshitaka August 19, 2023
  • The Saint John’s Pottery in Minnesota: An American Pottery Tradition August 1, 2023
December 2023
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Nov    

Top Posts & Pages

  • Kintsugi: An Ancient Japanese Repairing Technique Using Urushi Lacquer
    Kintsugi: An Ancient Japanese Repairing Technique Using Urushi Lacquer
  • Visiting Vietnam: Traveling in the Land of my Pottery Crush
    Visiting Vietnam: Traveling in the Land of my Pottery Crush
  • Guide to Choosing Your Tea Whisk for Matcha
    Guide to Choosing Your Tea Whisk for Matcha
  • Eat, Sleep, Shave Wood: The Extraordinary Life of Woodworker Okubo Kotaro
    Eat, Sleep, Shave Wood: The Extraordinary Life of Woodworker Okubo Kotaro
  • Guardian of a Craft: ‘Kata-e-zome’ by Esteemed Textile Designer Yamauchi Takeshi
    Guardian of a Craft: ‘Kata-e-zome’ by Esteemed Textile Designer Yamauchi Takeshi

Categories

  • 72 Seasons Essays
  • Events, Workshops and Webinars
  • People
    • Ayumi HORIE
    • Bill GEISINGER
    • Chieko (Calligraphy)
    • Floresta Fabrica
    • Hanako NAKAZATO
    • HARADA Fumiko
    • HASHIZUME Reiko
    • HASHIZUME Yasuo
    • HORIHATA Ran
    • HOSHINO Gen
    • IKUSHIMA Harumi
    • INOUE Shigeru
    • ISHIDA Tami
    • Jarrod DAHL
    • Kazu OBA
    • Kenneth PINCUS
    • KIKUCHI Yuka
    • KITAMURA Tokusai
    • KOBAYASHI Katsuhisa
    • KOJIMA Yosuke
    • KOTANI Yoshitaka
    • KUBOTA Kenji
    • KURIYA Masakatsu
    • MAEDA Mitsuru
    • Marshall SCHEETZ
    • Mike MARTINO
    • Mitch IBURG
    • MURANAKA Yasuhiko
    • NAKAYA Yoshitaka
    • Naru (INOUE Naruhito)
    • NITTA Yoshiko
    • OKUBO Kotaro
    • Ontayaki
    • SAKAI Mika
    • Samuel JOHNSON
    • Sarah NISHIURA
    • Saratetsu
    • SASAKI Shoko
    • Satoshi YOSHIKAWA
    • Shumpei YAMAKI
    • Style Of Japan
    • TAKAHASHI Nami
    • TAKAMI Yasuhiro
    • TANIMURA Tango
    • WATANABE Ai
    • YAMADA Yutaro
    • YAMAUCHI Takeshi
    • YOKOTSUKA Yutaka
  • Baskets
  • Ceramics
  • Design
  • Glass
  • Kintsugi
  • Metal
  • Textiles
  • Urushi
  • Wood
  • Mingei
  • Research
  • Food and Craft
  • Topics
  • Tea (Chado)
  • Travels
    • Minnesota
    • Arita
    • Bizen
    • Hagi
    • Karatsu
    • Kuroe
    • Kyoto
    • Matsumoto
    • Mino / Tajimi
    • Onta
    • Shigaraki
    • Shizuoka
    • Sonoma County
    • Tokoname
    • Vietnam

Tag: eco friendly

Furoshiki and the Elegance of Simplicity

By:
Ai Kanazawa
March 20, 2013Textiles Saratetsu

Furoshiki by Saratetsu in our shop ->

Japanese love to puzzle about how to make simple things elegant. Everyone knows about Origami, but there is also wrapping cloth or Furoshiki, which can be described as the textile version of Origami.

I have been exploring creative ways of using these square pieces of fabric over the past few weeks.

Butterfly pattern furoshiki draped over sofa back
Butterfly pattern furoshiki draped over sofa

This beautiful furoshiki was hand-dyed onto linen by Saratetsu in Tokyo using a stencil with a vintage butterfly motif. I have previously blogged and posted on Youtube about the story of furoshiki stencil-dyeing, but I want to explain in this blog about its history, tradition, and uses.

A butterfly furoshiki bag hanging on a peach tree.
A butterfly furoshiki bag hanging on a peach tree.

Wrapping cloth known as Tsutsumi have been mentioned in writings from as far back as the 8th Century AD. One reference is to a cloth wrapped around an imperial costume stored in the Todaiji Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara. So the practice of wrapping things for storage has been taking place in Japan for more than 1300 years.

And it was not that long ago that these simple but versatile cloths were part of everyday Japanese life. They were used to carry or store away practically anything. Even children wrapped their books in furoshiki to go to school.

Hon-tsutsumi, or the ‘two books carry wrap’
Hon-tsutsumi, or the ‘two books carry wrap’

Using furoshiki for carrying personal items fell out of fashion in post-World War II Japan when owning a Western-style bag became fashionable. At around the same time, Japanese department stores started giving paper bags to customers to carry their purchases. I remember when I was a young girl enjoying the status symbol feeling of carrying a paper bag from a major department store such as Isetan.

Despite the waxing and waning of fashion fads, if furoshiki did not efficiently serve its purpose, how could it have survived for more than a millennium? As I explored and experimented in different ways to using a furoshiki, I discovered many advantages of using this benign piece of square cloth.

Three same size furoshiki they only become as big as the items you are carrying
Three same size furoshiki. They only become as big as the items you are carrying.

First, they are flexible. They only become as big as what you carry in it. Secondly, they are easy to clean. If you’re coming home from the beach carrying a sandy towel, all you have to do is to dust it off.  Moreover, if you are giving away or returning the content, you can fold it away after use. This is especially useful when you are taking a bottle of wine to a dinner or returning a library book. This adaptable and continuous use of furoshiki makes them economical and environmentally friendly.

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has a wonderful site where they have diagrams of different ways of using a furoshiki. For all you book worms, the hon-tsutsumi, or the ‘two books carry wrap’ is especially intriguing and my favorite. Next time you go on a picnic, maybe you’ll be inspired to take your lunch or favorite books in a furoshiki. Now that would be a fashion statement for the ages.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy & Security
  • Contact Us
  • ✉️ Newsletter Archive
  • About
  • えんとてんJapan

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Our Mailing Address is

Entoten LLC
c/o The Den on Laurel St.
205 Laurel St. Suite 104
San Diego CA 92101

E-mail: hello@entoten.com

Copyright © 2023 ENTOTEN LLC

Studio Kotokoto is now closed. Thank you for your support over the years!
You have been redirected to Entoten, an online blog and shop that was created by one of Studio Kotokoto’s founders.