fukusa (silk wrapping cloth); small cloth for tea ceremony
A square of fine silk used to wrap gifts or to handle tea utensils during the tea ceremony. The same cloth serves both purposes, with the tea ceremony use being a specialized application.
In the tea ceremony, you purify the tea bowl with a fukusa.
お祝いの品を袱紗に包んで持参した。
I brought the celebratory gift wrapped in a fukusa.
風呂敷 is a large everyday cloth for wrapping and carrying goods, while 袱紗 is a smaller, formal silk cloth used to present gifts or money at ceremonies.
Standard kanji spelling for the silk wrapping cloth used in tea ceremony and gift-giving.
Alternate kanji spelling; also common in tea ceremony contexts.
Rarely used kanji form; learners are unlikely to encounter it.
The word is of Japanese origin, referring to a small silk cloth. The kanji 袱 and 紗 both relate to cloth or silk, but the exact historical derivation is uncertain.