A Japanese Alternative to the Grocery Bag

One of many things I find fascinating about Japanese culture is their passion for packaging. Walk through a market with traditional Japanese merchants and you’ll see some amazingly innovative and even artful ways of wrapping goods for sale. Getting the items home is followed by peeling away layer upon layer of packaging.

One aspect of the Japanese art of wrapping and transporting is the furoshiki (literally “bath spread”). This is a square piece of cloth used to wrap items for easier transport, to protect items from dust in storage, or as a gift wrapping. They have been part of Japanese life since the 8th Century, and were used originally to transport clothing, and so serve as ad hoc floor or table coverings. Small furoshikis come in roughly eight sizes. The smallest measure about 18 inches on a side, and the largest up to about 52 inches.  The fabric used is traditionally silk, but nylon is a popular choice because when the furoshiki is tied off the knots hold tight, but are easier to untie. Cotton is also common. With the increasing popularity of reusable bags for transporting food and other goods home from the store, the furoshiki is enjoying renewed popularity.

The artistry of the furoshiki is in how the cloth is used to bind up items of different shapes and sizes. There are several different ways to use it, depending on what you want to carry. This means learning some different folding techniques, but once you get the sense of it, the furoskiki is such a remarkably useful item that most people who use them have several in the house and/or the car. They can even serve as fashion accessories, tied on as belts or head wraps, or wall hangings.

This video (courtesy of Lifehacker.com) demonstrates how to use a furoshiki to carry two wine bottles:

Of course, this represents just one way to use a furoshiki. This site shows some other techniques, and this handy .pdf file shows how to do several standard wraps, step by step.

Try it.