The Handy Furoshiki

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN JAPAN

A furoshiki is a Japanese wrapping cloth​—a wrapping cloth with a difference. It looks beautiful. It feels beautiful. And it is tied beautifully. Selecting and tying a furoshiki has become an art, passed down from generation to generation for well over a thousand years.

NOT just any cloth will do. Color, design, and the material must all be considered. The occasion also dictates which furoshiki will be used. For instance, a gift may be delivered wrapped in a furoshiki of silk on which traditional motifs, such as cherry or plum blossoms, are printed. Sometimes the giver may even insist that the recipient accept the wrapping as part of the gift.

Of course, wrapping cloths come in various sizes and suit various purposes. Round watermelons can be wrapped in them, or even tall rice-​wine bottles. Some furoshiki are so big that three or four bedrolls can be wrapped in them. These dustcovers are usually of cotton and hold a special fascination for little children who love using them to play dress-​up. At the other end of the scale, some young ones use very small cloths. In fact, a glance at children’s lunch boxes reveals that washcloths and handkerchiefs double up as mini furoshiki. When the children undo these mini furoshiki to eat their lunches, the clean cloths serve as table napkins. Most furoshiki, though, are about the size of a square head-​scarf.

The normal way to use a furoshiki in Japan is to place the object to be wrapped diagonally on the cloth, in the middle. If the package is oblong, the excess material at the sides is folded neatly around the package, first one side then the other so that each side is folded in a different direction. This leaves two corners of the material protruding at the ends. Now comes the difficult part. These two corners are brought up neatly over the package and tied in a double knot. Ideally, this will be a small knot that will end up looking like a dainty butterfly. However, according to the size of the package, the butterfly’s “wings” may look more like a pair of floppy rabbit’s ears. But all is not lost! A few seconds and these can be converted into a pretty bow.

For a square package, the opposite corners of the furoshiki are tied on top of the package, with one knot above the other so that only one knot is seen. The Japanese manage to pull all the material taut and arrange it in attractive gathers on the top. The clear-​cut shape is neat. Although the bundle can be carried by the knot, in the case of a gift, it is usually supported from underneath to preserve the shape.

The word furoshiki literally means “bath spread,” a name that became popular in the 17th century. At that time, gripped by a fear of fire, people tried to avoid lighting fires in their homes for bathwater. This left them little choice but to visit the public baths. There they spread out their square of material, undressed, and used it to wrap their clothes in while they bathed. Public baths have almost died out, but the name furoshiki, “bath spread,” has stuck.

In an age when traditions are fast disappearing, the furoshiki is surviving. Most families report having about eight furoshiki, and the luggage racks of Japan’s high-​speed bullet trains seem to support their claims. Passengers in Western dress conveniently mix the old with the new, the traditional with the modern.

Sales faltered for a while when shops began giving their customers plastic bags and large paper bags. However, the tide has turned. Designer labels and modern designs have made the furoshiki irresistible to Japan’s fashionable young women. A furoshiki matches a kimono in a way a leather bag never can. So when the kimono comes out for special occasions, so does the furoshiki for the big parcels.

Indeed, there is much to be said for wrapping cloths. Furoshiki made of natural fibers do not harm the environment. They can be used over and over again. They are small. They are light. They are easy to carry. They become bags of any shape or size at a moment’s notice. In the hands of admiring foreign tourists who do not know what furoshiki are, they become pretty scarves and table centers. And recently the Japanese have begun to copy the foreigners and have started using furoshiki in the same way, as well as for place mats, patchwork quilts, aprons, wall hangings, and anything else they think of. In fact, people are discovering just how handy a furoshiki is.