Furoshiki — Kamado Stories

WILD EDIBLE PLANTS OF JAPAN

by ainisomatte x kamado stories

WHAT IS A FUROSHIKI?

The furoshiki is a traditional Japanese square cloth that has been used for wrapping and carrying for over a thousand years. Originating with aristocrats, but quickly caught on as a functional tool for the working class to bundle and transport things around.

Its name ‘‘furo’’ meaning bath and ‘‘shiki’’ meaning spread, originates from its historical usage in bathhouses. People would stand on their furoshiki as a mat while undressing and use it to wrap their clothes while bathing.

Today, with its multitude of folding and tying techniques, it is a piece of textile where beauty meets function.

INDIGO DYEING

Indigo has always been revered in Japan, as it is believed to hold protective and healing attributes. Historically, it's been utilized in textiles, clothing, and spiritual practices. Its insect-repelling, antibacterial properties, and skin-soothing effects made it a versatile choice for clothing, embraced by farmers, samurai, and even mothers who used it for wrapping their wombs and swaddling babies.

Our furoshiki are dyed using natural indigo ( 藍 ai ) using a traditional Japanese method.

This process takes 15 months, during which the indigo plants are grown from seeds, fields are maintained, leaves are harvested, dried, and then transformed into dye-stuff (蒅 sukumo) through the alchemy of fermentation. Finally, the sukumo is used to create a living, all-natural vat that requires daily tending, such as feeding it wheat bran or ash made from shellfish. This shade of blue was created by Melanie (ainisomatte), with the help of the microbiome that surrounds her and her indigo fields located in Okayama, Japan.

For more about Melanie and her work visit: www.ainisomatte.net / @ainisomatte

INDIGO TIMELINE

DESIGN & PRINTING PROCESS

The design of this furoshiki represents Japan’s wild edible plants (山菜 sansai ), commonly found throughout the year, starting in early spring. In Japan, sansai dishes aren’t a niche interest, but something woven into everyday culture, enjoyed by many!

Sansai recipes offer us the opportunity to feel the changing seasons, right in our home kitchens. Regardless of where we live, in the city or the countryside, they ground us in our surrounding landscapes and its cyclical nature. Monica (kamado stories) created this design out of the desire to share knowledge on wild foods and the stories carried by the people here and the plants themselves.

The design’s stencils were hand-cut and used to apply a discharge method (one cloth at a time), creating the fabric impression. Due to the ephemeral quality of the stencil paper, we are able to make a limited quantity of prints.

No two furoshiki are alike; each one is unique, perfectly imperfect crafted with our hands.