fur shiki The art of wrapping a world of goodness... Documented by: Deepti Juyal
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Acknowledgement I would like to thank the members of my family who assisted me with this project: my father and mother, who send me Japan, my elder sister who helped me in visiting places of Japan and my brother who helped me in some technical issues. A special note of thanks to our Design Faculties Mrs. Dhriti Dhaundiyal,who helped in choosing appropriate topics and Rohit Keluskar, for expert guidance.
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What it is exactly?
Furoshiki is the act of wrapping important items in Japanese cloth. This is seen as a cultural activity and is artistic in its design. Clothes, food, gifts and other items are wrapped in these decorated cloths. The cloth used for wrapping is referred to as furoshiki.
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often invited feudal lords from the entire country to come to his esidence. At this time, furoshiki that contained kimono displayed the family crest so that its contents could not be mistaken for someone else’s. It is also is said that bathers dressed while standing on cloths after taking a bath. This is the origin of the term “furoshiki.” In the Edo period (1603-1867), several terms were used, FURO = bath including “hira zutsumi” or SHIKI (SHIKU) = spread “furoshiki zutsumi.” The terms changed according to how the cloth was used. However,the The furoshiki has a long history, clothes were wrapped. After the general public came to use as this square-shaped piece of Heian period it was referred to furoshiki in the public baths. cloth had already been used in as “hira zutsumi” for a long time. They used the cloth to carry a Finally, the furoshiki came to the Nara period (710-794). change of clothes and their At that time, it was called be used in the bath during the bathing accessories. This custom “tsutsumi” and was used to store Muromachi period (1336-1573). then spread, so that soon the Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, who was important goods. It was called owner of a bookstore would wrap “koromo utsumi” during the a Shogun in this era, installed a books, or a textile dealer would Heian period (794-1185). It was large bathhouse in the residence wrap clothes, and then they mainly used as a cloth in which that he had built in Kyoto, and he could go out for their business.
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HISTORY
Furoshiki in Nara period. 6
Examples of furoshiki usage during Muromachi period 7
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What sets furoshiki apart in today’s world?
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1. Attractive 2. Highly resistant 3. Reusable 4. Multipurpose
Great substitute to using plastic bags in Japan
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Types of Fabric
use to carry books and groceries.
Cotton
gifts such as wine bottles and boxes.
Nylon 11
special occassion gifts such as wine bottles and boxes.
Silk
Lycra
casual use to carry softer materials like cushions and clothes.
Rayon
use to make flexible footwears. 12
5 Sizes of furoshiki
Sizes (in)
Characteristics
18 to 20
great to wrap small boxes.
27 to 30 36 to 40
great to wrap gifts. used to make table cloths and grocery bags.
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larger grocery bag.
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for sofa cover.
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for single-sized bed shedsheet.
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commonly used when moving.Can be used as doublesized bedsheet.
90 inch (bedsheet, 2 large comforters) 78 inch (bedsheets, 6 cushions, large comforter) 69 inch (sofa cover, 5 cushions)
51 inch (large bag, 4 cushions) 40 inch (table cloth, bag) 36 inch (2 wine bottles, bag) 30 inch (gift)
27 inch (1 wine bot,watermelon holder 20 inch (bandana, tissue box) 18 inch (handkercheif, bento lunch box)
Here is a visual guide that lists more specific items to wrap to get a general idea to guide you with your furoshiki adventures. 14
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Where it is done in Japan? Kyoto
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Tokyo 16
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Factories of KYOTO and TOKYO. The printing factory does not look fancy but many experienced artisans are working and some young people are learning skills to be a good artisan in the future.
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Chiffonez, a traditional printing house in Fujisawa, Japan that has been in business for over 50 years. The current owner, Mr. Fukuda, has been dyeing since kindergarten.
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How it is done?
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First of all, you may wonder about the granularity of design but they can print a pattern as complex as the one you can see in the above photos.They can print many elaborate designs and patterns on furoshiki. But the thickness of lines and the circle diameter need to be more than 2mm. This printed paper arrived from a customer for printing on furoshiki. I hope you can get an idea of the level of complexity they can manage to print.
This furoshiki is designed by a Finland designer and the furoshiki are sold at Japanese department stores. In these days, many furoshiki are designed by European designers, and many Japanese customers are accepting this movement.
To print your design on furoshiki, we prepare stencils at first. We prepare stencils of number of colors you want to print on furoshiki.These days, many customers make their own designs on PCs, and the stencils are cut with the help of computers. So, your design can be exactly copied to furoshiki stencils.These stencils can be kept in good condition for four to five years, and can be used for additional orders.
You can send your desired colors by either of Adobe, GIF or even printed papers with color swatches. In Japan, DIC color swatch is common but we can accept Pantone color swatch from international customers.
Then, an artisan will translate your desired color to a dyeing material mix. He has notebooks that keep huge number of mixes to make various colors. If he doesn’t find the customer’s color within his knowledge, he will create it. Many artisans say (boast?) that they can create infinit number of colors to reach customer’s desire.
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might be adjusted by him. The customer’s desired color largely depends on a computer screen resolution, printer and ink type. And sometimes an artisan cannot reproduce the exact computer colors on cotton or rayon. So, an artisan always provides a test print to customers to avoid misunderstanding before Next, an artisan starts to mix producing furoshiki. He always base color materials. He is a makes sure if you are satisfied professional of color mixer and he with the color that the artisan knows the right mix to reproduce created. This is the best way to your desired color. He makes prevent miscommunication colors though his eyes and between customers and artisans. experiences. Moreover, the mix An artisan will update the color needs to be changed slightly mix by your feedback. according to the weather, This process may be done two or humidity and also the three times. But an artisan says materials for printing such as that he might never print exact cotton or rayon. The artisan the same color printed on papers makes every effort to produce on furoshiki cloth.Hope you can the best color for furoshiki. get an idea of the level of However, the artisan insists that complexity they can manage color reproduction is human to print. oriented work and that final color 21
Print materials are now ready.
The white furoshiki cloth are laid for printing. The cloth is so long that it will be cut into furoshiki size in an afterward process.
An artisan hand-prints a pattern Finally, beautiful furoshiki cloth are printed. by overlaying a stencil on furoshiki cloth and pasting color material from top to bottom. He does this work continuously by moving a stencil from a section to a section. It looks easy but actually it needs lots of experience to print furoshiki of a commercial values. What is surprising is that the pattern are printed seamlessly as if there are no joint parts.
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It is true that inkjet prints are becoming prevalent even in Kyoto for seeking low cost. But hand-printed furoshiki will give you a human toutch. Hand-print might not be as perfect as inkjet printers, but there is nothing so perfect in nature and this lack of perfectness will give you a relief and comfort. We hope that not only Japanese customers but also you will utilize these Japanese internal skills to add your life natural tastes! 23
Most of furoshiki in Japan are produced in Kyoto. This is because many factories There are many stages in the necessary for furoshiki production are concentrated furoshiki production process. Factories are divided up into in Kyoto. various specialized fields, and Chiffonez plays the role Furoshiki are produced of coordinator all the way through several processes through to the final stage. such as cutting stencils, printing design, steaming and washing furoshiki, and each factory organizes the supply chain of furoshiki production.
First, at the factory that produces the templates, they are stencil dyed one at a time by hand. Colors are added one by one in the process, so if there are a lot of colors, the number of templates increases. The work is done by hand, but the artisans are highly skilled, so they duplicate the desired design data within millimeters.After that, they are sent to the printing facility to begin the dyeing process. After the desired design data is confirmed, the colors are mixed based on the Pantone system, using data that we’ve accumulated over time. Coloration is deeply affected by climate and humidity, so all of our work is done with careful consideration given to the weather forecast. Everything his hand-dyed, so the most we can color in one day is 3000. If there are a lot of different colors, we can’t do more then 500.
(The facility we visited performs this stage of the dying process.) The furoshiki dyeing method is one in which long cloths are stretched tightly by a special machine, and then colors are applied meticulously so as to not deviate from the pattern. This craft that doesn’t allow for even a millimeter of deviation–having that sense of distance between neighboring points–is truly a super-human feat. To the observer, the technique, in which the cloth is placed in a frame, and the color is applied quickly and rhythmically, seems to be over in the blink of an eye. That is a testament to the physical strength and experience of the workers. After one color is applied, the application of the second color is where the meticulous nature of the craft becomes apparent.
LINK’s furoshiki don’t have these one millimeter shifts in hues right next to each other, but of course such furoshiki certainly do exist. Once the dyeing process is finished, the cloths are briefly dried, washed in water to settle the colors, and because they shrink slightly, they are shipped to a sewing factory. In the tsunami of March 11, 2011, the sewing factory in Fukushima Prefecture that did the sewing work on LINK’s furoshiki was destroyed. The area around Fukushima and Miyazaki has always been a place where there were a lot of factories making Japanese clothing, but the terrible damage from the tsunami has made it very difficult to getting things up and running again, even now.Since then, the sewing for LINK’s furoshiki has been handled at a factory in Tokyo. 24
drying 25
SOUVENIRS IN KYOTO WHERE YOU CAN BUY DIFFERENT FUROSHIKIS 26
template
colouration 27
template
dye
colouration
colouration
template
dye 28
The dyed furoshiki is then dried and washed to “pre-shrink” the fabric. Cheaper fabric tends to shrink more and not hold its shape as well during use, and Chiffonez chooses its fabric with this in mind. Link Collective’s furoshiki uses shantung, a lightweight fabric. After washing, the cloth is sent out to a sewing factory for the last step.
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One of the main technique of printing furoshiki: Shibori (tie n dye) Shibori is a Japanese manual resist dyeing technique, which produces patterns on fabric. There are an infinite number of ways one can bind, stitch, fold, twist, or compress cloth for shibori, and each way results in very different patterns. Each method is used to achieve a certain result, but each method is also used to work in harmony with the type of cloth used. Also, different techniques can be used in conjunction with one another to achieve even more elaborate results.
Shibori technique using patterns. 30
Meanings behind furoshiki print -Designers words-
-Designers words-
This design is about the journey out of a city, specifically London. It is an observation of the city’s varying pace, spacing and architecture, and the need one feels to escape beyond the city’s boundaries to nature every once in a while.
The design is based on the functional aspect of the furoshiki; the idea of wrapping and folding. At first glance it appears as a bold and abstract pattern but when seen as a whole, it becomes apparent that the stripes depict manipulated and tied fabric. By Lucinda Newton Dunn
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-Designers wordsThe wave pattern in Japanese art often symbolizes power and strength. The design can be seen in two different ways, the colorful wave side indicates a day to day life, peacefulness, and stability. The white wave side represents power, strength and hope.
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Challenges faced by them
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After the templates are ready, the colors are mixed for each design. And just like Link combines modern design with a very traditional craft, the color mixing process draws from the Pantone system as well as the local weather forecast.
Weather can complicate this step of the process, as the coloration is highly dependant on humidity and temperature that day. Humidity in the air or moisture in cloth can affect hues or shades of the colors applied, and so colors must be mixed appropriately. Think of how the color in a wet cloth appears darker or deeper than the same cloth when it is dry.
Once the colors are ready, the cloth that is to be dyed is tightly stretched out on a frame and the dyeing process begins. Each color is added with a template. After the first color, the application of the subsequent colors to the same cloth becomes increasingly difficult.
Prior to the tsunami of March 2011, Chiffonez sent the sewing to a factory in Fukushima, that was unfortunately destroyed by the storm. Fukushima was home to many other Japanese clothing manufacturers that have yet to recover. Now the sewing work is sent to a partner in Tokyo.
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10 Who practices the art form?
1. Artists 2. Designers
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The entire furoshiki process requires such a specific set of skills and level of details, it's not a surprise that is still done by hand. In fact, there are fabric printers and machines available for furoshiki, but because they are highly expensive and still require human oversight, they are hardly found or used in Japan. Furoshiki continues to be printed by hand by families skilled in this business for generations, just as they were centuries ago.
11 Who buys it?
Mostly all people uses it in different ways.
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Furoshiki as a gift wrapping material. Although there are still furoshiki users in Japan, their numbers declined in the post-war period, in large part due to the proliferation of the plastic shopping bag. In recent years, it has seen a renewed interest as environmental protection became a concern. Furoshiki are, however, commonly used to wrap and transport lunch boxes (bento) and often double as a table mat for the lunch.
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Plastic wrap vs Furoshiki wrap
Plastic wrapping somewhere replaces the value of furoshiki for today’s generation as it has some time consuming techniques of wrapping.
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Furoshiki as a fashionable product in today’s world.
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Designers involved in Furoshiki Kyoko was born in Tokyo. After graduating from Tokyo Zokei University she spent over 10 years working in Japan’s retail industry before starting Link in 2011. Since 2013 she has been based in London and will be moving back to Tokyo in 2016.
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Lucinda is a British designer specializing in printed textiles and graphic design. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1999, she moved to Tokyo where she lived for seven years and met Kyoko. She is now based in San Francisco, where she designed the Dots, Stripe and Folded Paper furoshiki.
Tilman is an interaction and graphic designer from Nuremberg, Germany. Since 2012 he has created over 500 geometric minimal compositions, publishing them daily on Geometrydaily.com. His work with Link includes the Arcs and Triangles furoshiki and pocket squares.
Kyoko
Leah is an American illustrator and designer. A self-taught artist, Leah draws her inspiration from her old neighborhood in East Austin, her love of folk art, and her Native American roots. Leah currently resides in Texas after spending a few years in Brooklyn, where she created our Angles and Mountain Blossom designs.
Hennie is a freelance illustrator based in London. She studied illustration at Brighton university where she developed her hand drawn style, which she put to lovely effect in her Objects furoshiki.
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Furoshiki shown in Japanese manga series... 1. Doraemon 2. Ninja Hatori
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Furoshiki technique.
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Bibliography https://www.invaluable.com/blog/furoshiki/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furoshiki https://japanobjects.com/features/furoshiki https://konmari.com/furoshiki/ https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/how-furoshiki-japanese-fabric-wrapping/ https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/furoshiki https://mantua.co.za/blogs/mantua-blog/furoshiki-the-art-of-wrapping https://dorafansubla.blogspot.com/2019/11/17esp.html https://www.pinterest.de/pin/513410426260517374/ https://www.carryology.com/insights/carry-culture/furoshiki-hands-on-with-made-on-the-moon/ https://livegreen.ch/en/furoshiki/ https://linkcollective.com http://markenter.com
A simple, innovative step towards happiness.