Chapter 11: Paper walls and flowers at the bank.

The article presents information on etiquettes of Japanese people. Musings on the implications of the multi-layered gift, and other possible parallels, led to an alteration in the focus of the author's research. Takako, a Japanese woman, was helpful on this front because she was familiar with some of the author's reading, and she could quickly find relevant references, such as the example mentioned in the previous chapter of wrapping a single-page letter in an extra blank sheet. Another line of thought was inspired one morning in Takako's house when the author found her busy with a man stripping the covers of her cupboards. These were floor-to-ceiling affairs, exactly like those in their own house, which enclosed and concealed a capacious storage space, accessed through large, sliding doors. The sliding doors are called "fusuma," and the man who was here to recover them is called a" fusuma-ya," a skilled occupation which he explained required many years of training. Plain white paper is also used for the wrapping of a formal gift, and its quality is measured in its texture, and in the visible grain.