Gift cover (fukusa)

The kind of Japanese decorative cloth that is draped over a gift placed on a lacquer tray is known as a kake fukusa (covering cloth). After accepting the gift the recipient returns the cloth to its owner. On formal occasions fukusa were used to cover tiered boxes of food.

This example, executed in tapestry weave with silk and gold thread, has the auspicious design of a phoenix perched on a paulownia branch with chrysanthemum flowers and mist. The "tortoise" knots on the tassels were a popular type of decoration on fusuka of the Taisho period (1912–1926). The reverse side of the cloth bears a large gold crest of oak leaves (mitsuwari gashiwa), probably the family crest of its owner.