I am a Navy White Dot patterned Tenugui Cloth. Everything starts from a dot, except me. I started from a thread.
Tenugui cloths are one of Japan’s old traditions but when we first received one as a gift, we had a lot of questions about this seemingly plain cotton cloth... Why are the ends frayed? What is it used for? Why the rectangular shape? A friend explained that tenuguis are a multipurpose cloth used for decorating, wrapping gifts, carrying items, wiping and drying hands. They can also be used as handkerchiefs, napkins, bandanas or kitchen cloths. The edges are frayed to allow quicker drying and are antiseptic as bacteria will not be as prone to build up as it would if the cloth had seams.
Once we discovered their versatility, we began to appreciate the meaning behind such a simple household object. We now have a large collection of tenuguis on rotation in our home and often give them as souvenirs when we return from Japan. Tenuguis by Kamawanu are handcrafted using traditional techniques. The labour-intensive process can be seen in this video.
Navy White Dot Tenugui Cloth was curated by Angélique Chmielewski
Maker: Kamawanu
Dimensions: 13” x 35” or 33cm x 90m
Weight: 2 oz or 57 g
Materials: 100% Cotton