Totoro Ghibli drawstring kinchaku pouches are big on cuteness, come with a little treasure inside

Whether you’re looking at them from a modern perspective or a traditional one, these kinchaku are adorable.

There are two ways you could look at this new line of pouches from Studio Ghibli specialty shop Donguri Kyowakoku. You could view them as connections to traditional Japanese fashion and design sensibilities that stretch back hundreds of years, or you could just view them as very, very cute.

And you know what? You wouldn’t be wrong either way.

If you’re taking the loftier-minded approach, you could focus on the fact that drawstring pouches with this kind of construction are called kinchaku in Japanese, and were commonly used when wearing kimono, back in the days before Western-style clothing, as well as Western-style handbags, backpacks, and briefcases too, became the norm in Japan. You could also appreciate the enduring aesthetic admiration in Japan for the checkerboard-like pattern called ichimatsu and the arabesque karakusa, both of which have been considered especially chic patterns for kimono and other articles of classical Japanese clothing for generations.

▼ The ichimatsu pattern in particular has also had a boost in popularity in recent years thanks to it being sported by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’s protagonist Tanjiro.

But let’s be honest here. No matter how interested in or attuned to Japanese art and culture someone may be, it’s impossible to look at these pouches and not have part of your brain respond with an excited squeal of “Ooooohhh, it’s Totoro!”, or “Ooooohhh, it’s Jiji!” if you’re looking at the ones featuring the black cat co-star of Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Out of the eight designs in the lineup, six of them are inspired by My Neighbor Totoro, with variations on that theme including sakura cherry blossoms…

…acorns (which, like the cherry blossom pattern, has depictions of the blue/medium Totoro)…

…Totoro in the rain with some frog buddies…

…the big Totoro going for a flight on his spinning top…

…and the above-mentioned karakusa pattern.

The last My Neighbor Totoro pouch doesn’t actually feature the titular forest spirit himself, and instead serves as a home for a colony of soot sprites.

Kiki’s Delivery Service fans don’t get quite as many options, but both designs embody a great mix of charming cuteness and playful elegance.

The cloth pouches measures 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) in length, so they’re not so much wallet substitutes as spots to keep special little somethings…and to get you started, they come bundled with a rubber stamp with a natural wood casing.

Each kinchaku has a unique partnered stamp that corresponds to the character artwork seen on the pouch’s cloth (an inkpad is not included, but the stamps will work with any ordinary one).

At 1,485 yen (US$9.60), they make great gifts for Ghibli fan friends, and are also affordable enough that if you can’t settle on just one adorable design for yourself, picking up two or more shouldn’t bust your budget up too badly. The entire line is available now through the Donguri Kyowakoku online shop here.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3, 4)
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