It looks like a huge piece of paper, all crumpled up. But no, it's a futon. Or rather, a futon in a futon vacuum pack.

In Japan, it's common to sleep on a futon mattress on the tatami mat floor. Actually, each person's bedding is made up of two futons--a shiki-buton (the mattress), and a kake-buton (a thick comforter). Every morning, these two futons are folded and put away in a closet. This is a good arrangement for Japanese homes, which are not always large enough for a lot of furniture.

Each family member generally has one mattress and two sets of comforters, one for winter, the other for the rest of the year. And then there are spare futon sets for overnight guests. In other words, quite a few sets remain in the closet for much of the year, taking up valuable space. This was a problem waiting to be solved, and solved it was--by compressing the futon with a futon vacuum pack.

The pack is easy to use--just put the futon in it, close it up, then remove the air with a vacuum cleaner. When you turn on the vacuum cleaner, the futon shrinks in no time at all. In one minute, it's about half its usual thickness.

A representative at a manufacturing company called "R" told me, "Futon vacuum packs first came on the market in the 1980s. In the early days they were for commercial use, but after they were adapted for residential use they satisfied a real demand and sold well. Many areas in Japan are densely populated, especially the large cities, and that's where they are used a lot."

For someone with very little living space, one big headache is trying to find a place to put everything. The futon vacuum pack has solved part of the problem admirably, and is now a hit with everyone who keeps a tidy house. It has become an ordinary household item in many homes.

Japanese homes are small, but they are crammed with consumer goods. From this environment was born the futon vacuum pack. Manufacturers are now receiving requests for information from interested buyers in other countries.