Tenugui

Description

Tenugui (手拭い) , litterally “hand (te 手 (て)) wipe (nugu う 拭う (ぬぐ))”

A tenugui is a thin Japanese hand towel made from cotton. Typically, tenugui are about 35 by 90 centimeters (14 by 35 in) in size, plain woven, and almost always dyed with some pattern. Usually the long sides are finished with a selvage, and the short sides are just cut and so soon show some fraying. Same as the tenugui’s offered here, the short side is unprocessed, some threads may fray.

The pattern offered here is the mame shibori. Mame (“beans” / “pea”) shibori is a classical Edo design, a bean/pea-dot pattern.  Westerners would call this a polka-dot pattern. The other patterns are flower and bunny.

We import our tenugui straight from Japan.

Tenugui may be used as wash- or dishcloths, during festivals (matsuri 祭), headbands, souvenirs, decorations, or for wrapping bottles and similar items. These days tenugui are popular as souvenirs and decorations.

Within the context of kinbaku a tenugui is typically used as gag or blindfold.

Glossary: Tenugui