Tenugui – Towel

A Tenugui (手拭い) is a thin Japanese hand towel made of cotton.

It is typically about 35 by 90 centimeters in size, plain woven and is almost always dyed with some pattern.

It can be used for anything a towel could be used for – as a washcloth, dishcloth, but often as a headband, souvenir, decoration, or for wrapping items such as bottles. Towels made from terry cloth have largely replaced it in household use. However tenugui are still popular as souvenirs, decorations, and as a head covering in kendo, where it functions as a sweatband, as extra padding beneath the headgear (men).