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.