Furoshiki cloths are said to have been used in Japan for around 1,300 years. This single piece of cloth can be used to wrap, carry, and protect items, and has long been an integral part of our daily lives. In recent years, they have once again been attracting attention both at home and abroad as a sustainable and beautiful part of Japanese culture.

Musubi Kyoto, a furoshiki specialty store located on Sanjo Street in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City, is a directly managed store run by Yamada Seni Co., Ltd. Colorful furoshiki line the walls of the store.

"Furoshiki has been around for a long time, but it's not ancient."

So says Etsuko Yamada, a member of the founding family and public relations officer. Musubi values the wisdom that has been passed down since ancient times, while proposing designs and uses that are needed in the modern era.

Diverse designs and functionality to suit a wide range of occasions

The furoshiki offered by Musubi come in over 500 varieties, each with a design and function suited to modern life. They are all sophisticated, with designs reminiscent of small floral patterns, Nordic motifs, and playful animal designs.

Through collaboration with designers and creators from Japan and abroad, we produce a series of original products, incorporating new dyeing and processing techniques such as "double-faced," which allows you to enjoy different patterns on the front and back, "double-sided dyeing," and "water-repellent processing."

The history of Yamada Seni, a long-established company that has taken on many challenges

Yamada Seni Co., Ltd., which operates Musubi, was founded in 1937. Currently under the leadership of its third-generation president, the company has adopted the policy of "returning to furoshiki," and in 2005 opened its first directly managed store, Musubi Tokyo, in Harajuku, Tokyo.

The company, which has been a manufacturer of furoshiki for businesses since its founding, says that the path to spreading furoshiki culture to the general public was a constant process of trial and error. Nevertheless, by incorporating customer feedback one by one, the company gradually established its own unique brand identity.

One of the symbols of this is the way that furoshiki is written in hiragana. This expresses the desire for people to have a free image of it, unconstrained by preconceptions. Continuing on this path, in 2017 the company finally opened a directly managed store in Kyoto, where its headquarters are located.

Making the most of their knowledge, Musubi Kyoto store has many furoshiki on display in three dimensions. They have incorporated installations that make the entire space an attractive piece of art, and are designed to make it easy to understand how to use them in an instant.

Preserving culture and passing it on to the future

"If we leave it as it is, the culture of furoshiki will disappear."

Yamada felt a strong sense of crisis about this situation. "That's why I want to reach as many people as possible with a method of communication that is appropriate for the current era," he said.

Furoshiki, once a necessity, has become less of a part of everyday life with the advent of convenient tools, and there are many generations who have never experienced the act of tying. In order to preserve the culture for the future, it is first necessary to increase the number of users. For this reason, Musubi is expanding opportunities for experience by holding workshops in its stores and collaborating with schools and local governments.

The store offers a "regular course (75 minutes)" where you can learn how to use furoshiki in specific situations, and a "trial course (45 minutes)" that you can easily participate in between sightseeing. The small realizations and joys that arise from this experience will turn furoshiki into a familiar part of your life.

"There's a reason why it has continued as a tradition for so long. I think that being born in Japan makes you feel enriched by coming into contact with Japanese wisdom and aesthetic sense."

Yamada's words convey his strong desire to preserve furoshiki culture and serve as a bridge to the next generation.

The ever-expanding possibilities of furoshiki

Musubi's journey continues to expand from a sustainability perspective. A turning point came in 2018 at the cultural event "FUROSHIKI PARIS" held in France. The question posed there - "Furoshiki themselves are sustainable and wonderful, so why are they made of polyester?" - brought a new perspective to Musubi.

Since then, they have promoted environmental friendliness by using organic cotton and recycled materials, and switching to paper wrapping. Their "No-Throw Wrapping" method of wrapping gifts in furoshiki was featured in the New York Times, and they are currently sold in around 40 countries, continuing to grow through international exchange.

What a piece of fabric can teach us

Musubi delivers more than just a "thing" like furoshiki, but a "culture" itself. The brand name "Musubi" comes from the same root as the word "musubi" (to tie), and it embodies the desire to "connect people, lives and cultures through furoshiki."

"Furoshiki is not just a piece of cloth, it awakens the wisdom that lies dormant within us," says Yamada.

Nowadays, when we are surrounded by tools and convenient items for various purposes, taking the time to pick up a piece of cloth called a furoshiki gently teaches us the joy of living life in a creative way, without being bound by form.

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むす美 京都 
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