Fukusa facts for kids

19th-century fukusa showing a scene from a Noh play.

Fukusa (袱紗, also written as 帛紗 and 服紗) are special Japanese cloths. People used them for wrapping gifts or for cleaning tools in a Japanese tea ceremony.

Fukusa are usually square pieces of fabric with a lining. They can be different sizes, from about 9 to 36 inches on each side. They are often made of fine silk. Many fukusa have beautiful embroidery with lucky designs.

Today, people don't use fukusa much for wrapping gifts. You might still see them in some parts of Japan during wedding gift exchanges.

What are Fukusa Used For?

In Japan, people traditionally placed gifts in boxes or on special trays. Then, they would drape a fukusa over the gift. Choosing the right fukusa for the occasion was very important. It showed how formal the gift was. This custom of covering gifts became popular during the Edo period (1603-1867).

The pictures or designs on a fukusa often showed what the gift was for. They might also match one of the yearly festivals when gifts are given. A richly decorated fukusa showed the giver's wealth and good taste.

After a gift was exchanged and admired, the fukusa and its box or tray were usually returned. However, before the Meiji Restoration (1868), this was not always the case. Sometimes, when gifts were given to important officials, the fukusa was kept. This was one way to control the wealth of the rich noble families (called daimyō) and samurai warriors.

History of Fukusa Cloths

The idea of covering gifts with special cloths became very popular during the Edo period (1603-1867). During this time, fabrics were a big part of Japanese art. They became even more important as the merchant classes grew richer.

These wealthy merchants could afford to pay artists, dyers, and embroiderers. This helped textile art grow. In Japan, art was not split into "fine arts" and "decorative arts" like in the West. Many famous artists designed textiles, including fukusa. But these artists rarely signed their work.

In the early 1700s, fukusa designs showed what the noble families liked. Only educated people from the upper classes would understand the hidden meanings in the designs. These people lived and exchanged gifts in cities like Kyoto and Edo (which is now Tokyo).

By the 1800s, Japan's merchant classes gained more wealth and artistic influence. They started to adopt many customs of the noble families. This included the tradition of giving gifts with fukusa.

Today, fukusa are not used very often. When they are, it's mostly around Tokyo and Kyoto for gifts given during weddings.

Fukusa Decoration and Designs

Satin silk was a favorite fabric for embroidered fukusa. These often had lots of gold and silver threads sewn onto them. When a dyeing method called paste-resist dyeing (yūzen) became popular, people preferred crepe silk (chirimen or kinsha). Woven fabrics like tsuzure-ori were also common.

By the late 1700s, family crests, or mon, were added to the lining of the fukusa. Tassels were put on each corner. This made it easy to pick up the fukusa without touching the main fabric.

Common Themes and Motifs

• Nature: Designs from nature were very common. Some lucky combinations included the "Three Friends of Winter:" pine, plum blossom, and bamboo. These symbolized strength and honesty.
• Lucky Birds and Animals: Mandarin cranes (tsuru) and turtles with long tails of algae (minogame) were used. They stood for long life and good luck. The Japanese word for red sea bream, tai, sounds like part of the word for "good luck" (medetai). Also, red is a lucky color. So, red sea breams were also seen as good luck fish on fukusa. From the Asuka and Nara periods (7th-8th century), dragon and phoenix designs from Chinese culture were also considered lucky.
• Noble Culture: Stories like The Tale of Genji and scenes from Noh plays appeared on fukusa. Items from the Heian period like bamboo curtains, screens, books, and fans were also used as lucky designs. Games like shell- and card-matching games (kai-awase) were also shown.
• Folktales and Myths: Scenes or characters from traditional Japanese folktales were used. Examples include Urashima Tarō and the Tale of Takasago. These designs were a way to share cultural stories.
• Local Gods: Sometimes, local gods were featured. For example, the Shichifukujin were a group of seven gods from Japan, India, and China.
• Chinese Themes: Designs from Confucian and Taoist ideas could also be on fukusa. An example is the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, a group of Chinese Taoist philosophers. They would gather in a bamboo grove to talk and drink.

Fukusa in Tea Ceremony

Different kinds of fukusa are also used in the Japanese tea ceremony. Tea ceremony fukusa are always made of silk.

• Tsukai fukusa are usually plain silk squares. They are used to ritually clean tea tools during a temae (tea-making process). Men often use deep purple ones. Women usually use red or orange ones. Sometimes other colors or decorated fukusa are used.
• Dashi fukusa are larger silk squares with different patterns. Hosts and guests use them to handle chawan (tea bowls). This happens during certain temae, especially when making thick tea, in some tea traditions.
• Ko-bukusa are small squares of patterned silk. Hosts and guests use them to handle chawan during certain temae. They are used instead of dashi fukusa in some tea ceremony schools.