Japanese Culture

On Sunday, November 10, Chicago Aikikai hosted a public workshop teaching the history, meaning and use of furoshiki (風呂敷).

Furoshiki literally means “bath” (furo) + “spread” (shiki); originating as cloth used by noble families and feudal lords to wrap their clothes when visiting public baths. This evolved into  pieces of reusable fabric for wrapping gifts, carrying tools, packing lunches, and countless other things. While the term emerged during Japan’s Muromachi period (1136-1573), its usage dates all the way back to the Nara period (710-794), thus the custom has been around for over 1,300 years.

Chicago Aikikai member Satoko Ogura Bourdaghs, a native of Sendai in Japan and former Japanese language instructor at University of Chicago, led the workshop. Over tea and Japanese okashi (お菓子; sweets) she explained the history and use of furoshiki with a slideshow on her laptop. Afterward, participants were given the opportunity to practice wrapping furoshiki cloth around different objects and shapes (boxes, bottles, balls) to better understand its versatility, and take home their own furoshiki if they wished to do so.

While not directly tied to the practice of aikido, furoshiki does embody similar principles of economy and efficiency. Japan’s status as a geographically small country with limited natural resources has long influenced the development of practices and atittudes geared towards re-use and minimizing waste. The circular movements of aikido find an analogue in furoshiki as a tool that can be used and re-used countless times (furoshiki used for wrapping gifts is always returned, for example). Lack of resources is one of the reason Japanese clothing (including aikido dōgi and hakama) use only knots for wearing, not buttons or clasps, just like the combinations of folds and knots used to turn furoshiki into bags or wrapping.

The event was the first of its kind for Chicago Aikikai, and was also a fundraiser to help support the maintenance and upkeep of the dojo. Similar events are currently being planned for the future.

Our thanks to Satoko for leading this workshop, and all the preparation that went into it.