Peter's Japan blog

Furoshiki, the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth. Before the time of plastic bags, since hundreds of years, people in Japan used cotton or silk cloths to hold and carry stuff. They had invented useful ways to fold a simple cloth so that it could be used as a purse or to hold boxes, books, water melons and even bottles. But since the introduction of the plastic bag, it has been on the decline and there don't exist many furoshiki shops any more.

The Japanese government is trying to promote the people to use the furoshiki more again.

Here are two video about Furoshiki. (the first one is cheesy I know, but it gets the message across), the second one is from inside the Kakefuda, a furoshiki shop in Kyoto.

You can find folding patterns and other info on Furoshiki.com.