WRAPPING
包む
A prayer. A language.
To the Japanese people, wrapping is not mere ornamentation that seeks to achieve beauty of form and sophistication of function. The wrapping culture of this nation arose in the Jomon period (Japan’s prehistoric period that lasted around 14,000-1000 BCE) and has developed over several thousand years, interweaving practicality, art, and faith.
When we see an item wrapped origata-style in pristine white paper, we sense the purity of an item as yet unused. The economical form of the tamago-tsuto egg holder calls to mind nature’s sophisticated functionality, as well as the sensibility of those who first thought to employ it. In a single furoshiki cloth, we perceive the softness of water.
Wrapping, for the Japanese, is a combination of respect for nature and wisdom, a dialogue with the kami (deities), and a language for communicating unspoken thoughts
and connecting us more closely with others.