A is a portable multi-paneled silk partition supported by a T-pole. It came into use in aristocratic households during and following the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

(794–1185) in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

when it became a standard piece of furniture. are similar in appearance to a , but are mounted on a free-standing stand rather than a lintel beam. They are less similar to , which do not include streamers to tie them up, and are generally used in different social settings.

Construction

The curtain or veil () hangs via ribbons or other decorative cording from the top crosspiece () which is supported by the vertical bars () which are supported by the pedestal at the base (). The fabric is generally in two layers: a plain

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

back lining, and a fabric with a design on it facing outward. Colorful ribbons of fabric are generally hung in the center of each vertical panel on top of the outer fabric. The ribbons are held in place with a (traditionally) red decorative stitching which runs horizontally a little below the top of the . The size of the historically depended on where it was used. The largest type, for use just inside bamboo blinds, was four tall by eight wide (about by ), with the five or six tall ( to ) and divided equally into five vertical panels. A medium size , for use inside a room, was three tall by six shaku wide (about by ), with the four or five tall ( to ) and divided equally into four vertical panels. The smallest type, generally only used for , was two tall by one , five wide (about by ) and divided equally into three vertical panels. This last type was generally used to veil the pillow where the noble woman slept, with the being made of

rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

or red sandalwood.

Use

The is often placed just on the inside of bamboo blinds, forming a portable double privacy barrier to the outside of the house. They are also used as portable room dividers inside the house. Today, they are most often used as decorations or to hide boxes or other unsightly messes in a home. In former times, they would often be used to hide noble women from public eyes when they visited

shrines A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daemon, or similar figure of respect, wh ...

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, and to provide additional privacy for the women at home. Smaller versions called were carried by the female attendants of a noble woman in order to hide her from public view while she traveled. In the 1880s (late

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

), were rare, but possibly still used in the houses of . File:Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki4L.JPG, used behind blinds for gender segregation; the sleeves of the women protrude from behind the screens, while the men sit on the outside. 13th-century illustration from ''

The Diary of Lady Murasaki is the title given to a collection of diary fragments written by the 11th-century Japanese Heian era lady-in-waiting and writer Murasaki Shikibu. It is written in kana, then a newly-developed writing system for vernacular Japanese, more common ...

''. File:Empress Shoshi and son.jpg, Imperial apartments. Empress Shōshi, her infant son Atsuhira, and an unidentified lady are screened by . Below, her father

Fujiwara no Michinaga was a Japanese statesman. The Fujiwara clan's control over Japan and its politics reached its zenith under his leadership. Early life Michinaga was born in Kyōto, the son of Kaneie. Kaneie had become Regent in 986, holding the position unt ...

and her lady-in-waiting, likely

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, Japanese poetry#Age of Nyobo or court ladies, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court in Kyoto, Imperial court in the Heian period. She was best known as the author of ''The Tale of Genji'', widely considered t ...

References

External links

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彩る調度の品々
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kicho Furnishings Japanese traditions Japanese bamboowork Japanese words and phrases Partitions in traditional Japanese architecture Portable furniture

Construction

Use

See also

References

External links