My aunt, who had spread out our family tree and was telling me about our family’s roots, suddenly said, “Oh, that’s right,” as she stood up, opened a drawer of a traditional Japanese chest, and took out several folded silk furoshiki. She continued, “In the Karahashi family, every New Year, the head of the main house would distribute beautifully crafted furoshiki as New Year’s gifts to all the branch families.”— Jreibun