VietNamNet Bridge – The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam will organize an exhibition on Furoshiki – Japanese wrapping cloth at the center, 27 Quang Trung Street in Hanoi from March 3 to 10.


Furoshiki cloth can be used to wrap many things - Photo: The organizers
The exhibition will display Japanese Furoshiki and local designs by Vietnamese students who won awards at the 2nd International Furoshiki Design Contest in Japan.


Furoshiki is a square piece of cloth used for various purposes such as wrapping and carrying items of different shapes. Dyed in an array of colors and patterns, on Monday they are used mainly for wrapping gifts, table coverings or interior decoration.


Furoshiki goes back to the Edo Period (1603-1868), when men used the cloth to wrap up their clothes when public bathhouses became widely accessible.


Although the custom and culture of furoshiki has slowly been replaced by plastic bags since the late 1970s, public campaigns in recent years to protect the global environment and reevaluate Japanese culture led to the rediscovery of furoshiki, resulting in new ideas for its use.


Workshops by two Japanese experts, Handa Hiroki and Yamamoto Yoko, members of the Furoshiki Study Group, will run March 2 and 3 at the Viet Duc High School and the Hanoi University in Hanoi. They will continue a series of workshops in Hue, Hoi An, Danang and HCMC until March 14.


VietNamNet/SGT