"Wrapping " things is more than a convenience in Japan. It is something to which people give special thought and care. Let us consider the meaning of wrapping in Japanese culture, looking at how it is a part of daily life.

Tsusumu, or wrapping things, is done not only to keep them clean and protect them from harm, but also to express the giver's heartfelt respect for the person they are presented to; tsutsumu signifies the spirit of giving not only some material thing but feeling from the heart.

The main occasions of gift-giving in Japan are what are known as "seasonal greetings," the chief of which are chuugen and seibo gifts. Chuugen gifts are given in the hot months of summer, mainly July, while seibo are winter, year-end presents. Both kinds are sent in order to express gratitude for kindness, help, or consideration the giver has benefited from over the preceding months. It is customary to give such gifts mainly to persons of higher standing, such as one's employer or boss, or the nakoodo or formal "go-between" presiding over one's marriage. Once it was common to carry such presents directly to the person at their home, but today the normal pattern is to have them delivered by a department store.

During the chuugen and seibo seasons, department stores and other shops cancel their usual holidays and hold sales of gifts especially designed for this purpose. While seasonal gift-giving is becoming less common among the younger generations, who tend to think of the practice as empty and old-fashioned, it is still vigorously continued throughout Japan.

For all gifts, including chuugen and seibo, there are many detailed rules and customs of wrapping, pertaining to the types and patterns of the paper, the direction of the paper's motif, ways of wrapping, use of traditional mizuhiki string or noshi many of which have implications for the auspiciousness and message of the gift. When carrying a special gift to give to someone, moreover, sometimes it is first put in an attractively decorated box and then the box wrapped in a furoshiki until it is presented directly to the person.

Noshigami : Paper festoon for a formal gift. Features a noshi, originally a decoratively folded paper with a strip of dried abalone inside, an element symbolizing a happy occasion. A strip of yellow paper may be substituted for the abalone. Today, the noshi and mizuhiki string are often printed on the paper itself.

Mizuhiki : Decorative cord used to tie gift-wrapped articles and make ornaments. Red and white is commonly used for happy or auspicious occasions and other formal gifts; black and white is used for mourning and condolence gifts. Celebratory occasions require certain types of knots while funeral or sympathy gifts require otheres.

The kanji used to write the word evoke the urban lifestyle of the Edo Period (1603-1867) when people made frequent use of the public bathhouses (sentoo that were a fixture of every community. People would bandle their towels and washbasin in the furoshiki when setting out for the bath, and then use it to wrap up their clothing while in the bath, as well as a kind of bathmat: furo ("bath") and shiki ("spread").

A furoshiki can be used, by simply tying the ends toghether, and wrap up things of almost any size and shap, Cunlike a briefcase or bag, which has a predetermined form, it is extremely handy and can be folded up after use to wrap or carry something else.

The simplicity and flexibility of the furoshiki wrapping cloth is similar to that of kimono Kimono are made in such a way of length and breadth using sashes and cords. When taken off, however, a kimono folds up neatly into the simple shape of the original strips of cloth from which it was made.

Since the end of World War II, most people have opted to use modern-style bags, brief cases and satchels, so furoshiki are not seen as commonly as they once were, except at tradition-centered events such as weddings and funerals. Furoshiki today are made nor only of silk and cotton, synthetic fibers, and are printed with traditional as well as more modern designs.

Otoshidama are also handed over in specially designed envelopes. The characters printed on the envelope in the photograph below are a simplified form of the decoration on the traditional wrapping, which would have been festooned with a noshi strip of folded paper.