(2) Framed Japanese Fukusa with Family Mon. Pair of framed fukusa in faux bamboo frames depicting two family mons (crests). One mon with triple umbrellas, crossed, and the other with three fern leaves, ringed, emerging. 

Overall Size: 23 x 21 1/4 in. 

Sight Size: 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. 

#4464 

Fukusa are a type of Japanese textile used for gift-wrapping or for purifying equipment during a Japanese tea ceremony. Fukusa are square or almost square pieces of lined fabric ranging in size about 9 to 36 inches along one side. They are typically made of fine silk and may be decorated with embroidery in auspicious designs. Traditionally in Japan, gifts were placed in boxes or on a wooden or lacquered tray, over which a fukusa would be draped. The choice of a fukusa appropriate to the occasion was considered an important part of the gift itself, and part of its formality. The practice of covering a gift became widespread during the Edo period (1603-1867), but the use of fukusa as a way of presenting gifts has mostly died out in modern times, lingering mainly in certain ritual exchanges of gifts during weddings in a few regions of Japan. The scene or motifs depicted on fukusa are chosen to indicate either the occasion for which the gift is being given, or because they are appropriate for one of the annual festivals when gifts are exchanged. The richness of the decoration of the fukusa attests to the giver’s wealth and aesthetics. Once a gift was exchanged, after being admired, the fukusa and box or tray presented with the gift are typically returned to the gift’s original giver, although during the Meiji Restoration the fukusa often stayed with gifts given to a high official. Especially in the Edo period a number of eminent artists were commissioned to design textiles, including fukusa, but they seldom signed their work. Satin silk was the preferred fabric for embroidered fukusa, which often made extensive couched gold- and silver-wrapped thread. As paste-resist dyeing (yūzen) became popular, crepe silk (chirimen or kinsha) was favored. Tapestry-weave fabrics such as tsuzure-ori were also popular, as was the use of weft brocade (nishiki). By the 19th Century family crests, or mon, were added on the lining side of the fukusa, and tassels were placed at each corner so that the fukusa could be picked up without touching the fabric. The most common themes and motifs found in fukusa are nature, auspicious birds and other animals, and aristocratic culture, although as the practice became more prevalent with the merchant class starting in the late 18th Century other images like folklore and mythological scenes, local deities, and even Confucian and Taoist symbols began to be used. Several variants of fukusa are still used in the Japanese tea ceremony, keeping the tradition alive, and in some families the mon is used on business cards crafted in the same materials fukusa once were, to honor their past and inspiration.