n other words, the wrapping paper is more important than the “permanent” object it contains. In Empire of Signs, the writer and philosopher Roland Barthes describes “the merest Japanese package” which through “the care, the very technique of its making, the interplay of cardboard, wood, paper, ribbon, (...) is no longer the temporary accessory of the object to be transported, but itself becomes an object (...) consecrated as a precious though gratuitous thing; the package is a thought.” As Barthes notes, “a sweet, a bit of sugared bean paste, a vulgar “souvenir” (...) are wrapped with as much sumptuousness as a jewel.”

Japan is indeed an “empire of signs” and these signs go beyond mere writing and the transcription of speech. They offer a true visual and graphic language of their own, made up of evocative symbols, motifs and patterns. They evoke nature, water (the sea, waves, beaches, waterfalls), plants, animals and weather patterns (rain, mist, morning fog, clouds, lightning).

This graphic richness is part of daily life, right down to the modest, disposable decorative papers used to wrap vegetables, fish, pastries, or even just a couple of pencils.

For those who are neither Japanese nor Japanophiles, this graphic profusion of codified signs and stylised motifs, as aesthetically beautiful as we may find it, remains a largely indecipherable enigma. In the eyes of a Japanese person, however, each of these motifs speaks volumes. The design language often evokes the ephemeral nature of a crashing wave, a passing cloud, falling snow, or a turtle ambling along.

We have chosen to illustrate this special feature on Japan with examples of wrapping papers not only to evoke the ephemeral nature of things, but also because we are very taken by the subtle, beautiful, naturalistic, poetic and elegant care evident in the dials produced by Japanese watchmakers. They all boldly affirm their Japanese identity, stating categorically that the “packaging” of the watch is just as important as its content (which, it goes without saying, is perfectly executed).

PETITS PAPIERS JAPONAIS by SUSANNE RAMBACH

Since the 1960s, Susanne Rambach, a painter and designer born in Paris in 1932, has been collecting wrapping papers from Japan. These ephemeral masterpieces, destined to be thrown away after use, nevertheless bear witness to an everyday graphic art of great beauty and rare sensitivity. These decorative papers bear witness to the meticulous attention paid to wrapping, thanks to which every item, no matter how trivial, is treated with dignity. It’s a lesson in civilisation.

These items, which have appeared in many exhibitions, are brought together in Les Petits papiers japonais (Picquier 2011 – untranslated), where the papers are comprehensively annotated. Susanne Rambach is the author of numerous articles on Japanese everyday art. She co-authored (with Pierre Rambach) Le Livre secret des jardins japonais (Skira 1973), and the multimedia work on Sakutei-ki: Le Possible et l’impossible dans l’art de dresser les pierres (2005).

For more information:

• Sakutei-ki
• Susanne Rambach