My Heian Lady Tenugui
 
Our illustrator Cathy is passionate about the Heian era in Kyoto! 
 
The world of The Tale of Genji is an era of romance and beauty which swirls around the stunning poetry of the day.
 
My Heian Lady, in her beautiful multi-layered juunihitoe robes is typical of the court ladies of the time.
 
These ladies were beautiful, walking works of art!
 
Their many-layered gowns were displayed on walls for decorative effect. 
 
We hope she brightens up the walls of your home too.
 
We think she would lovely in a little girl's bedroom :)
 
Our Japanese tenugui (手ぬぐい) are beautiful cotton wall-hangings which are printed in Kyoto.
 
The first syllable ‘te’ (手), of ‘tenugui’ means ‘hand’ in Japanese, and ‘nugui’ comes from the verb ‘to wipe’.
 
Traditionally, tenugui were used as hand towel, but unlike Western towels that are made from looped cotton that is fluffy, tenugui are thinly woven and gauzy, making them the ideal medium on which to print artwork.
 
In our Kyoto tenugui, all of the 4 sides are stitched to prevent them from fraying.
 
This means that our tenugui also make warm, light scarfs.
 
As well as wall-hangings they make lovely table runners and chair backs.
 
And just like furoshiki, they can be folded and tied to create gift-wrapping, bottle wraps, and small bags. 
 
* Contact us if you would like us to make you a Tenugui Wall-hanging Kit for your landscape tenugui! 
 
* This purchase does not include the frame, but you can read how to have your own one made on our About Tenugui page!