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OKEIKO 6 (Tenugui)

The word ‘tenugui’ (Nihon Tenugui) in Japanese means a towel made of plain weave cotton fabric. It is durable without being rough, so it can be used as a handkerchief, a bandana or even as a substitute face mask, which makes it very practical. In fact, this ‘tenugui’ is a very important item in Nihonbuyo. It is not only used tied around the head or around the neck (collar), it even expresses ‘emotions’. For example, when a Nihonbuyo dancer, playing a female role bites the tenugui, the character is enduring sadness or is trying to control anger. The tenugui might be just a piece of thin cloth, but in Nihonbuyo it also expresses multilayered and deep emotions.

(Mitsuko T. Sakurai)