We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.

Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.

Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.

Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.

Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.

From the collection of Ararat Gallery TAMA

589 Items featured online

Functional object, Doki no Kenjo Chimaki, c. 1900s

Doki no Kenjo Chimaki

Reuse this media

Can you reuse this media without permission? No (with exceptions, see below)

Conditions of use

All rights reserved

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Gift of the Japan-Australia Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, 1981

MDP Photography & Video

Have a question? Contact Ararat Gallery TAMA

Historical information

‘The Art of the Japanese Package’ was an exhibition that toured to 10 Australian and 11 New Zealand public galleries in 1979 and 1980. The touring exhibition comprised 221 objects of traditional Japanese packaging which extended from ceramics, wood and paper to woven fibre containers.

At the conclusion of the tour, The Japan Foundation and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council donated the vast majority of the exhibition to the Ararat Gallery for its permanent collection.

Combining the natural qualities of bamboo, paper and straw with delicate craftsmanship, these unique objects express Japanese aesthetics as applied through fibre crafts. In Japan, the qualities and traits of natural materials are exploited rather than hidden. The texture of straw, the septa of bamboo are not concealed but lovingly incorporated into the whole.

In 1979 Hideyuki Oka, curator of ‘The Art of the Japanese Package’ wrote:

“In no way self-conscious or assertive, these wrappings have an artless and obedient air that greatly moves the modern viewer. They are whispered evidence of the Japanese ability to create beauty from the simplest products of nature. They also teach us that wisdom and feeling are especially important in packaging because these qualities, or the lack of them, are almost immediately apparent. What is the use of a package if it shows no feeling?”

The descriptions of the featured objects were written by Hideyuki Oka, curator of ‘The Art of the Japanese Package’, 1979.

Physical description

Here we see a creation of the type whose beauty is said to have astonished the celebrated sixteenth-century tea master Sen no Rikyu. Originally, confections of mochi (steamed and pounded rice) filled with bean jam were wrapped in chigaya, a species of reed, and came to be called chimaki. We are told that a shopkeeper named Kawabata Doki used bamboo leaves to wrap the chimaki he presented to the emperor Gokashiwabara (1464-1526) and that thereafter the use of bamboo leaves for wrapping such confections became predominant. In fact, the bamboo-wrapped chimaki seen here are known as Doki chimaki after the pioneering shopkeeper, and it is small wonder that this product of Kyoto should have an air of refinement and dignity suggestive of the imperial court. The two different flavours of the contents are indicated by exposing either the upper sides or the undersides of the leaves. The cord used to bind the chimaki together is made of rushes, and ceremonial gift cords (mizuhiki) are attached.
- Professor Hideyuki Oka, curator.