The Japan Foundation held the Second International Furoshiki Design Contest for Students in autumn 2010 in collaboration with its overseas offices, eliciting submissions from design students overseas.
Among all 217 submissions, one winner of Grand Prize, three winners of Prize for Excellence, ten winners of Merit Prize, and ten winners of Honorable Mention were selected.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for participating in this event. The Foundation hopes this Furoshiki Design Contest serves as an opportunity for people overseas to know Japanese wrapping cloths furoshiki as well as for young designers to improve their skill.

1. Participated countries: 9 countries: Germany, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, US, Brazil, Russia, Viet Nam, Singapore

2. Total entries: 217

3. Awards:
Grand Prize (1 winner): prize money \100,000; reproduced on actual furoshiki
Prize for Excellence (3 winners): prize money \30,000; reproduced on actual furoshiki
Merit Prize (10 winners): prize
Honorable Mention (10 winners): prize

4. Judges outside the Japan Foundation at the final judging in Japan : 3 judges
Hiroshi Kashiwagi (Professor, Musashino Art University / Design critic)
Noriko Kawakami (21_21DESIGN SIGHT Associate director / Design journalist)
Chizuko Morita (Representative, Furoshiki Study Group)

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Title: Banana leaf - furoshiki
Country: Vietnam
Designer: Phan Khanh Trang
School: Hue College of Art

In the past, people in Vietnam often used banana leaves to wrap things. Banana leaves and furoshiki are both evocative of the simpler ways of life that were common in days gone by. The dragonfly has long been popular in Japan and Vietnam as a traditional design symbolic of natural beauty. This design, which incorporates a banana leaf and a dragonfly, expresses the close cultural relationship between daily life in Japan and Vietnam.

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Title: Cross Cultural Design
Country: Singapore
Designer: Yeo Hai Tian Leon
School: Nanyang Polytechnic

This design is based on the concept of cross-cultural interaction between Japan and Singapore. The soft violet background emphasizes traditional colors. A kiji (Japanese Pheasant), Japan’s national bird and a species endemic to Japan, is at the center of the design, surrounded by orchids, the national flower of Singapore. The design expresses a fusion between Singapore and Japan.

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Title: Great Pacific Garbage Fish
Country: United States
Designer: Michelle Ray
School: Tyler School of Art

The plastic bottles stand for the fish that swim in the Pacific Ocean between the United States and Japan. The fish are colored by the trash that human beings discard into the ocean, depicting the plight of marine life today, forced to exist in an unnatural environment brought about by the slow ruin of the Pacific Ocean habitat.

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Title: Nature
Country: Canada
Designer: Rin Shimizu
School: York University

This design blends Hokusai’s “Red Fuji” with maple leaves as an image of the links between Japan and Canada. Sashiko and quilt stitching was used to incorporate cherry blossom petals into the fabric, expressing a fusion between the two countries.

Title: Aborigine Country: Australia Designer: Maggie Chang School: Australian International College of Arts

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Title: Spring Country: Australia Designer: Peggy Luan Yee Lai School: Design Centre Enmore

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Title: Make a wish Country: United States Designer: Ryan Castro School: Rhode Island School of Design

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Title: Ipe and Cherry Blossoms Country: Brasil Designer: Karin Ueda School: UTFPR

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Title: Japan in Mosaic Country: Brasil Designer: Heraldo Oliveira Guerreiro Fantinatti School: Positivo University

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Title: Into the Sun Country: Vietnam Designer: Tong Thi Ngoc / Bui Thi Mai Anh School: Vietnam Fine Art University

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Title: Spring Country: Vietnam Designer: Nguyen Thi Thu Loan School: Hanoi University of Industrial Design

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Title: Floral Harmony Country: Singapore Designer: Joel Yip Yong Jun School: Nanyang Junior College

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Title: Fusion Country: Singapore Designer: Tracy Wu Xinyang School: Raffles Design Institute

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Title: Flourishing Flowers Country: Singapore Designer: Ooi Xiang Mun School: Raffles Design Institute

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Title: Japanese Crane & Moose Country: Canada Designer: Mimi Lai Drivas School: Centennial College Interactive Digital Media

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Title: Tides Country: United States Designer: Katie Pearce School: Rhode Island School of Design

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Title: Transporting and Connecting Country: United States Designer: Stefanie Seet School: Tyler School of Art

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Title: Blend of Shapes Country: United States Designer: Katherine Meng School: Rhode Island School of Design

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Title: Tomodachi (Friend) Country: United States Designer: Lillian Duermeier School: Milwaukee Institute of Art

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Title: Floral Harmony Country: Brasil Designer: Maira Teruko dos Santos Nisi School: Bandeirantes University

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Title: Sakurara Country: Brasil Designer: Aline Watanabe School: Brazil Academy of Arts

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Title: White Birch and Cherry Blossoms Country: Russia Designer: Tatiana Poludenko School: M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University

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Title: Where the motorbike passes by Country: Vietnam Designer: Pham Son Tung School: Danang Architecture University

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Title: See beyond the Seas Country: Singapore Designer: Lie Marsha Aramita School: Lasalle College of the Arts

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