Tenugui & Furoshiki are traditional textile homeware products that are designed with the two qualities important in Japanese culture: practicality and aesthetic beauty!
What is TENUGUI?
Uses for TENUGUI
What is FURO-SHIKI?
How can I use TENUGUI & FUROSHIKI?
Tenugui (pronounced ‘tay-nu-gui’) are traditional Japanese cotton towels that were once revered for their practical versatility, but have now become more popular for their aesthetic value. This traditional textile showcases the artistry of Japanese graphic design (traditional and modern) and the stencil-print dyeing processing. The hand towel is plain weaved using cotton, and typically measures 35 x 90 cm. Most tenugui are made with two selvages (woven edges), while the ends are left un-hemmed to allow natural fraying.
The te-nu-gui that we import and distribute throughout Australia are produced by an original Japanese tenugui manufacturer RIENZOME at their dye works in downtown Tokyo. Most of the production is still performed by hand by skilled artisans. For example, the ‘kata-oki’ method involves positioning a ‘kata-gami’ paper stencil on white cloth and then applying a dye-resist glue over the top. Then, the paper stencil is removed, the cloth turned over and the glue applied again. This process is repeated about 20 times. After the layers of glue are applied, a watering can with a long-thin spout (called a ‘ya-kan’) is used to pour dye over the topside of the cloth material. A vacuum pump is then used on the underside of the cloth to draw the dye through the fabric for complete colour penetration.
So much care is required to prevent any unspecified dye from running across pattern borders, especially when multiple dye-colours are used. Most stencil dyeing can only die one colour per design, but the manufacturer of our tenugui achieves multiple dye colours using special dye methods to segregate the dye areas and to create shading and colour gradation. The success of this relies completely on the experience and skill of the artisan. Unlike many mass-produced dyed textiles, the clearly-defined dyeing technique makes the design pattern vivid on both the topside and underside of the material.
Traditionally tenugui were used in Japan for general household duties, as a dishcloth or washcloth for example. Today, you will still see Japanese using tenugui to:
mop up spilled tea or to wrap up food items (like lunch boxes);
as a tightly-twisted sweatband (check out your local sushi chef); and
as a head covering in martial arts like Kendo.
However it is more the aesthetic appeal of tenugui that has cemented its popularity in modern Japan, with people coming up with new ways to incorporate the stunning graphical designs displayed on tenugui into modern life. Examples of modern uses include as dinner napkins, placemats, table runners, wall-hangings, scarf, bandana headbands, as gift-wrapping and so on. Tenugui are a great way to add some individuality to your home or as a fashion accessory.
Information coming soon.
Information coming soon.
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