Best Kyoto Souvenir-- Wrapping cloths Furoshiki

A Made in Japan Souvenir: Furoshiki

Furoshiki cloths have a long tradition in Kyoto, dating back over a thousand years, and have always been a popular Japanese souvenir. The best way to describe Furoshiki is an eco-friendly cross between origami and wrapping paper. They can be used to create handbags of different sizes or wrappings for things like gifts and wine bottles.

If you google furoshiki, you’ll come across images like these colorful handbags,

or beautifully wrapped presents like this. But the photos can be misleading. That present didn’t wrap itself.

A furoshiki in its natural state is no more than a plain square or rectangular piece of fabric. This souvenir is 100% DIY, no instructions included.

Although I loved the finished Japanese furoshiki products, I am challenged in the arts and crafts department and feared that a traditional furoshiki would end up stuffed in a drawer somewhere, never to be seen again. So for my Japanese souvenir I went with a less traditional model– a long, rectangular shape that easily serves as a makeshift scarf, no folding or tying required.

Camswitzer’s, video, used with permission here.

Since my trip, I’ve learned there are many web resources devoted to the art of furoshiki, including a series of books based on “wrapagami” and even step-by-step you tube videos. As an experiment, I followed the video above to see if a non-crafty person could master the art of furoshiki wrapping by tying a basic handbag.

Since I didn’t actually buy a square furoshiki, I used a square scarf I already had.

First, I took a corner of the scarf and tied a knot about 5 inches in. I then continued to tie knots on each of the 4 corners.

Once all four sides were knotted, I tied two corners together on each side.

Voila, my “furoshiki” actually does appear to resemble a handbag. Next time, I’ll buy the real thing. The stiff cotton of the furoshiki gives the bag a more sturdy shape than my floppy-ish silk bag here.

Any furoshiki design masters out there? Share your creations in the comments below!

Japanese souvenir Shopping details:
You can buy furoshiki all over Kyoto. Some of the recommended shops include below:
Raak: various locations around Kyoto, all made in Japan. I bought my Raak “scarf” from a street vendor in Arashiyama.
KakefudaKyoto (made in Japan), Higashiyama, Higashioji-dori, Komonzen-agaru, Takabatake-cho 609 (京都市東山区東大路通古門前上ル高畑町609)

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