What was inside of a treasure box, which “Urashima-Taro” in a Japanese fairy-tale brought back from the Ryugu Castle?
I took a bundle handkerchief, “Furo-Shiki” in Japanese, from my treasure box with Japanese paper upholstery. “Furo” means “bath”, and “Shiki” means “mat”. “Furo-Shiki” is used for the purpose, bath mat, a long time ago. This is the derivation of “Furo-Shiki”.
A bath in the Muromachi era is a steam bath; therefore feudal lords used “Furo-Shiki” to mat or to wrap their cloths so as not to confuse with other cloths when they were invited someone’s steam bath.
Although it’s just a rectangle cloth, there are several perpetuated usages in history. For example to wrap gifts with delicate silk Furo-Shiki and to wrap mattresses with cotton Furo-Shiki in arabesque.
We have seen fashionable Furo-Shiki tailored to contemporary ethos recently. You can put it into your bags or pockets once you fold after using it. I love this convenience. Don’t you think so?
