Wrapping Customs in East Asia

Wrapping Customs in East Asia: From Glass Floats to Furoshiki

Finding glass floats is a big attraction for beachcombers all along the Northwest coastline, including Oregon Coast beaches. In the 1960s and 70s, people found Japanese glass floats washed up more often than now. Some glass floats found were wrapped in rope. The rope’s function was to keep the glass float with its fishing nets and traps and to help protect the floats. While the rope had a practical purpose, we might find a sense of beauty in it.

This talk will introduce some examples of wrapped objects, from glass floats on display in Float Odyssey, to wrapping customs and its aesthetics embedded in Japanese and East Asian cultures.

One custom that will be explored is Furoshiki (Japanese), Bojagi (Korean), a square cloth used for wrapping and carrying objects, which functions as a bag. Currently, Furoshiki is in the spotlight globally, as an ecological alternative to non-reusable kinds of bags. But, beyond functioning as a reusable transport method, cloth has played an important role for special occasions and in daily life.

This will be a great opportunity to learn about East Asian cultures through the lens of “wrapping.”

This is a collaborative event of Lincoln County Historical Society and Oregon Coast Community College presented by Sachiko Otsuki who is a curator of LCHS and Faculty of Arts at OCCC.

Also check out other Arts events in Newport.