Furoshiki
While they come in a variety of sizes, they are typically square. Traditional materials include silk or cotton, but modern are available in synthetic materials like rayon, nylon, or polyester. History. The first cloths were ("wrapping"), used during the Nara period as protection for precious temple objects. By the Heian period, cloths called , meaning "flat wrap", were used to wrap clothes. These cloths came to be known as during the Muromachi period; the term (literally "bath spread", from , and ) is said to have come about after high-ranking visitors to bathhouses packed their belongings in cloth decorated with their  family crest. They became popular in the Edo period with increased access to bathhouses by the general public; moreover, cloths with family crests grew in demand as common people gained the right to have family crests during the Meiji period. Modern may be made from fabrics of various thicknesses and price points, including silk, , cotton, rayon, and nylon. The cloth is typically square, and while sizes vary, the most common are and .