Gift in the Mail

Mitsukoshi is a major department store chain here. They sent this furoshiki along with a flyer about a store sale.

Check furoshiki.com to see how to tie a furoshiki.

Kindergarten Supplies Box

Greetings to the kindergarten students in NH, USA who are looking at Here and There Japan this week!

This was Little Brother's kindergarten supplies box, dougubako (the "u" makes the "o" long). Big Sister's looked the same. They were wrapped in furoshiki and presented to the teacher on the first day. The boxes were kept on a shelf in the back of the room. In elementary school, they have supplies boxes, too. They are the same size, but they are brown. They are kept in the desk. Click on the label below to see other school items for elementary school.

At the top is a box of markers. A box of paints is in the middle. The yellow box is a box of crayons.

These boxes of paint, markers, and crayons were kept in the supplies box. Mothers put color labels on each paint tube and marker. Each paint tube, marker, and crayon had to have the child's name written on it, too.

There are two types of crayons used in kindergarten. The dark green crayon is called Sakura Cray-Pas. It is soft and waxy. The light green and white crayons are called Sakura Coupy- Pencils. They are hard. They can be sharpened to make fine lines. They are not pencils, though. They are harder than American crayolas.

I couldn't find our box of Sakura Coupy-Pencils. They come in a flat tin box. Each crayon has its own place. There is even a diagram on the top to remind you where each color goes in the box. Mothers write their children's name on each one in a permanent marker. Kindergarten is a lot of work!

There would also be a package of origami paper in the supplies box. The clay box, pad, and utensils would also be kept in it.

Bandana Furoshiki

Little Brother didn't have room for his pencil case in his randoseru or school bag. He wrapped it in a bandana that he used to wear on his head in cooking class. It was easier to carry his pencil case home like this. He used his bandana like a furoshiki.

Furoshiki

Little Brother brought this home from school today. For the last week or so, fifth graders practiced how to fold furoshiki. They wrapped their desk boxes or supplies boxes to carry home. The boxes are 23 cm x 33 cm. They carried them by the knot.

This is the last week of the school year. Little by little, they will carry their school stuff home. At the end of the year, they usually carry their school boxes home in a bag. Click on the label below to see the school box and other school stuff.

Note: Our children carried their school boxes in furoshiki on their first day of kindergarten and first grade. Jiji wrapped a box of cookies in furoshiki to present to the nurses at the hospital when Big Sister and Little Brother were born.