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Tenugui, Winter-Spring 2009 collection
A Tenugui is a traditional multi-functional Japanese towel. It's use and design have been reinvented with innovative patterns. It's the perfect thank-you gift. |
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 Tenu-col vol.2 2009 Winter-Spring |
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What is a Tenugui?
A Tenugui is a traditional multi-functional Japanese towel. It’s made of very absorbent cotton and it’s a little bigger than a scarf, yet not quite as bulky as a normal towel. It’s the perfect size.
The Japanese have always used the Tenugui. Aside from using it to dry their hands or wipe off sweat, in the old days, they would cover their heads with it to protect themselves from the sun and wind, use it as a washcloth while taking a bath, or as a mat, or to cover Tupperware Obento. Teneguis were indispensable items for Japanese peasants during traditional shows and celebrations. When tied to the head, they served as symbol of effort and perseverance. This multi-functional piece of cloth offers hundreds of different uses.
Nowadays, people in Japan tend to use a towel or a scarf rather than a Tenugui. But even though it’s no longer used as often, the custom hasn’t disappeared. The Japanese enjoy its beautiful design and like making use of its practicality. That’s why they’ve created a line of designer Tenuguis.
The line of gift-worthy Tenuguis is called "Tenu-cole (Tenugui Collection) volume 2 2009 Winter-Spring" and it’s the perfect trinket to give away at New Year’s (Japan’s most important annual event), as a thank-you gift for friends, workmates, clients.... This is the second edition of this collection. Eight of Japan’s most active graphic designers have collaborated in creating the collection.
A Little History
Tenugui’s origins date back to the Kofun period (3rd – 12th Centuries). Although its use became widespread during the Edo period (17th – 19th Centuries) as cotton crops began to develop. At the time, Japanese Kabuki theatre was in its hay-day. For the common people, having a Tenugui with the name of their favorite actor on it was a symbol of high social status.
People at the time used to wear a special hairstyle that was very easy to muss, so they used Teneguis to cover their heads and protect their hairdos form the wind. That custom became fashionable at the time.
It was also an essential item to carry when traveling and it was common to carry 2 Teneguis for protection against the sun, to use as a belt, to cover a sable’s handle, or to roll up handles on bags in a Tenugui.
There’s a historical reason why the Tenugui has no seams. On the one hand, it had to be easy to rip so it could be torn by hand in case of emergency and used to stop a hemorrhage or to repair the strap on a broken sandal. Another reason was so that it would dry quickly. At the time, cotton was a valuable material and the common people could not afford to have a lot of Tenuguis, that’s why they needed them to dry quickly so they could reuse them.
During this period, Edo started a Tenugui design contest called “Tenugui-awase”. Participants included not just artists of the time, but also writers, brothel owners, Oiran , a high-ranking courtesan in Japan, and Daimyō , the most powerful feudal lord... all sorts of people.
The contest was suspended during World War II because the armed forces needed cotton. After the war, the custom of using a Tenugui was reestablished, but it wasn’t the same. Shops began to give Tenuguis with their names on it to their clients, designs became sloppy and their use was mainly functional: the were used as rags, diapers, to clean furniture… Once the towel appeared the Tenugui was no longer as popular an item in Japan. It was no longer a pretty and sophisticated towel, as it had been until just a while back.
But the Tenugui has been reinvented and designers have taken advantage of the success modern Japanese design enjoys these days. The Tenugui is once again fashionable and the Japanese like it because of its history, its original and simple design and its multi-functionality.
How are Tenuguis made?
Tenugui prints are made through a handcrafted process and a complicated printing technique. The craftsmen dye them one by one very carefully and by hand. With this technique, they manage to obtain a chromatic scale that cannot be achieved with a printer. Because of the complexity of manufacturing Tenuguis in bulk, this collection was launched as a limited edition.
Interesting Suggested Uses
How are Tenuguis used? Here are a few examples:
To cover Tupperware full of food como Obento
To cover plastic bottles
To cover wine bottles
To wrap a box of tissues
As a scarf
As a head-wrap
As a handbag
As a wallet
Other uses
Links:
AssistOn
Tenu-cole vol.1
Tenu-cole vol.2
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 (4 Dec 2008)
(14 Aug 2008)
(12 Nov 2008)
(2 Dec 2008)
(2 Dec 2008)
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