WRAP / ARRANGE /
BUNDLE / CARRY / PROTECT / CLOTH = FUROSHIKI
A square piece of
cloth made of any fabric. It comes in all sizes from one
foot square to ten times that size. It is the most useful
carrying invention imaginable. It has been used since the
7th century to carry every object, from elaborate gifts to
lunches, vegetables, books or even bulky furniture.
SHORT HISTORY
Perhaps the original idea
of a furoshiki was introduced from China. In the 8th
century, the square of cloth used to wrap things up was
called hirazutsumi. Shosoin, the imperial treasure house in
Nara, has in its collection, cloth used for wrapping.
It is thought
that hirazutsumi (just wrapping) might have been used in
temples to store clothing, while bathing to purify the body
before worshipping. In the 14th century, the practice of
using hirazutsumi was also used by aristocrats as a method
of wrapping their clothes. These hirazutsumi were decorated
with family crests. The bathers in special, feudal, bath
houses spread the cloth on the wet floors, placing their
clothing on it and turning up the four corners over the
center to keep the bundle together.
The first
record mentioning furoshiki dates from the beginning of the
17th century. The word furoshiki originated from the public
baths. During the early Edo Period, as the public bath,
0-Furo, was common to both men and women, they modestly
entered clad in their underclothes. Each bather spread a
hirazutsumi on the floor, much as a bath mat, and undressed
on it. After bathing, they would wrap their wet underclothes
and towels in the cloth to carry home. From this usage, the
cloth became known as furoshiki, furo meaning bath and shiki
meaning cloth or bath spread.
The convenience of the furoshiki, the
simplicity with which it can be folded, placed in a purse,
and used again and again, soon popularized it. The use of
the furoshiki shifted from its original bathhouse use to the
making of bundles for carrying goods, business documents,
books, gifts , storing futon and for wrapping items during
ceremonial occasions.
For full story
http://indigodye.blogspot.com/
