japanese tips
YUKITATSUMI COLLECTS CHOPSTICK
WRAPPER ORIGAMI LEFT BEHIND
ATRESTAURANTS.Wor d sLuke RyanYouprobably haven't thought too deeply about the paper wrapper
thatenvelops a pair of disposable chopsticks. And why would you?
Youremove the wrapper, throw it to one side, split the chopsticks
inhalfand start chowing down. But in Japan, the relationship runs
deeper.In a country where most children learn origami at school,
evenaslender strip of superfluous paper becomes a possible
canvasfor creativity. Nine folds will get you a handy chopstick stand;
12 willmake a bird. Delve deeper and you can build giraffes, rhinos
andusable (albeit very small) paper bowls.
YukiTatsumi became fascinated by the art of chopstick wrapper
(hashibukuro) origami in 2012, while he was a “poor, hungry”
studentworking part-time in a busy restaurant. “I started noticing
howfrequently people left behind these beautiful objects,” he says.
“Ifoundmyself looking forward to cleaning tables, just to see what
thediners had made for me.” Tipping is almost non-existent in
Japan,so Yuki became convinced these pieces were little offerings
tothestaff at the restaurant. “In Japan, wrapping chopsticks is a
wayofwelcoming the guest,” he says. “So, folding the wrappers
isawayof saying thank you to the host.”
Ratherthan throwing the paper sculptures out, he started collecting
andcollating them. Dozens became hundreds, then hundreds
becamethousands. Yuki discovered cranes, shrimp, fans, bulls,
hearts,dancing men, squids and bowties. He also encountered
unconscious crumplings and painstaking deconstructions. “I love
theforms I don't understand,” he says. “It gives me an opportunity
toletmy imagination run free.”
Soon,itbecame clear his fascination had graduated from a mere
hobbyinto a full-blown cultural mission. Dubbing the project
Japanese Tips, Yuki began reaching out to restaurants all over the
country,asking them for any hashibukuro origami they stumbled
across.By the time he staged his first exhibition in Tokyo in 2017,
Yukihad amassed more than 8000 pieces, coming from every one
ofJapan's 47 prefectures. Carefully pinned to the wall in long
rows,they resembled dried butterflies from a lepidopterist's
prizecollection.
Nowstanding at more than 15,000 ‘tips’ all up, Yuki's collection
showsno signs of coming to an end. He's toured Japanese Tips
aroundthe country, as well as South Korea and France. “The next
exhibition is undecided,” he says, “but I’d like to hold it in Australia.”
Wherever it ends up, Yuki’s project is a small reminder that trash
andtreasure are often two sides of the same coin – it just depends
howyouchoose to see it.my project