Japanese culture has fused with American culture. The spotlight hit Marie Kondo with her show, "Tidying Up," on Netflix a few years ago, along with the bestselling book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up." Super Mario continues to side-scroll his way through my life as I play with my kids on the Nintendo Switch. My wife and I frequent the local sushi restaurant. It is our go-to meal for weekend enjoyment. Here at the library, our manga (Japanese-style comic books) collection is sought-after, and we add more to the shelves monthly.
Two examples of Japanese art/culture I have recently discovered are furoshiki and kintsugi.
I learned about furoshiki while researching wrapping gifts during the last holiday season. I recalled the mountain of wrapping paper that appears every year and wanted to see if there was a more sustainable option. Furoshiki are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths. They can be used for gifts or anything that needs to be wrapped or contained.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery. This is more than getting out the Super Glue. Broken pottery is joined with lacquer mixed with colors such as gold or silver. Instead of pitching that mug and finding another at Target, it can be repaired, beautified, and possibly mean more to you because you are celebrating its history. Besides, it looks majestic.
If either of these artforms intrigues you, check out these Creativebug classes on how you can do it yourself.
Log in here first: https://www.creativebug.com/lib/herrickdl
Then head here:
Furoshiki (Japanese gift wrapping)
Kintsugi (Japanese broken pottery repair)
バイバイ Baibai
