Main Index Page

Last updated 14/9/2025

x

These covers and decorations appear to be of several different kinds. The Cover is made by pleating a square of paper into a flower like form which then is tied in place around the neck of the container so that the corners of the square point downwards. The Decoration is also folded from a square of paper. It resembles a stylised butterfly, that is placed over the neck of the bottle (or perhaps tied to it?) so that the corners of the square point upwards and outwards.

David Lister has suggested that this second design, the Sake Bottle Decoration is the origin of the Ocho and Mecho Butterflies used in traditional Shinto wedding ceremonies. 'It is generally thought that the Mecho and Ocho Butterflies, which usually, but not always, to this day accompany sake flasks and bottles, originated as paper covers over the necks of sake flasks.' (From David Lister on Mecho and Ocho Wedding Designs) He does not adduce any evidence in support of this statement.

Isao Honda includes a section about sake bottle covers in his book 'Nihon no Kokoro Dento Origami'. Roughly translated the relevant section reads: 'This style of tokkuri (sake bottle) rim wrapping is a ceremonial style used when offering omiki (sacred sake) to the altar, and remnants of this style can still be seen in the rim decorations on sake tokkuri used during the Hinamatsuri festival.'

**********

Sake Bottle Covers

1692

The first evidence of this design that I know of is found in pictures in the 'Onna Chohoki' (Women's Treasury) which was first published in Japan in 1692. The design can be seen more clearly in the corresponding pictures from the 1847 edition.

1692 original

1847 edition

**********

1697

A folded example of what looks like a Sake Bottle Cover can be seen on page 19 of the Origata Tehon of Kikuchi Fujiwara no Takehide which dates to the third month of 1697.

**********

1764

Instructions for making the design appear in the 'Hoketsuki' (Wrapping and Tying), sometimes also called the 'Tsutsumi-no Ki', a treatise on the folding of formal wrappers / tsutsumi, butterflies and packages and the tying of formal knots in the tradition of the Ogasawara school of etiquette, by Sadatake Ise, which was first published in 1764.

**********

1944

Illustrations of two kinds of folded covers appear in 'Origami Shuko' by Isao Honda, which was published in 1944.

**********

1969

Information about this design is also found in Isao Honda's book 'Nihon no kokoro dento origami', was published by Japan Publications in Tokyo in 1969.

**********

Sake Bottle Decorations

1707

Volume 4 of 'Wakakusa genji monogatari' by Okumura Masanobu, which was published in 1707, contains a print showing sake bottle decorations, presumably made of folded paper.

**********

Similar folded decorations appear:

1713

In a print from 'Shôtoku hinagata' (Patterns from the Shôtoku Era) aka Shotoku 3 by Nishikawa Sukenobu, which was published in 1713

**********

1719

In 'Hinagata kiku no nae', a kosode pattern book published in 1719.

**********

1732

Sake container decorations also appear in a print in 'Onna fuhzoku tama kagami' by Nishikawa Sukenobu which was published in 1732.

**********