A cloth born from Japanese ecological living

Hi. I’m Yukako who lives in the northern part of Europe, and teaches and tells people about Japanese traditional culture such as tea ceremony, kimono, etc. offline and online.

Have you ever seen a Japanese cloth “furoshiki”? It’s a square piece of cloth and has been used for centuries in Japan to make a bags for carrying stuffs, store objects or wrap things. If you learn how to wrap things with furoshiki, it’s very handy because you can wrap various shapes of things from wine bottles to a watermelon!

[How to wrap a watermelon]

1. Place a watermelon in the center of the cloth
2. Hold the side corners and tie up. This will be your handle.
3. Do the same thing for the other side.
4. Hold the knots, and put one handle to the other. Done.

Furoshiki cloths have a side variety of designs from traditional patterns to some modern. They are generally made of cotton, silk or polyester and others. The sizes are also wide varieties. Some people use them not only for wrapping things but also for decoration of tables or rooms.

In old times of Japan when plastic bags were not available anywhere, people took furoshiki with them to anywhere they went and used it if needed because it’s a just piece of cloth so it’s very easy and convenient to bring anywhere! Even today, if you use it instead of using plastic bags at stores, it’s also very eco-friendly and somehow very fashionable too!!

Those who are eco- conscious start using furoshiki as their daily item, now it’s slowly getting popular in worldwide! You had better not miss out this new trend!!