kichō

File:Kicho.jpg

The curtain or veil ({{nihongo||帷|katabira}}){{cite web |title=JAANUS / katabira 帷 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/katabira.htm |website=www.aisf.or.jp}} hangs via ribbons or other decorative cording from the top crosspiece ({{nihongo3|{{lit|hand}}|手|te}}) which is supported by the vertical bars ({{nihongo3|{{lit|leg}}|足|ashi}}) which are supported by the pedestal at the base ({{nihongo3|{{lit|thing on the ground}}|土居|tsuchii}}). The fabric is generally in two layers: a plain silk 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 {{transliteration|ja|katabira}}.

The size of the {{transliteration|ja|kichō}} historically depended on where it was used. The largest type, for use just inside bamboo blinds, was four {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} tall by eight {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} wide (about {{convert|47.72|in|cm}} by {{convert|95.44|in|cm}}), with the {{transliteration|ja|katabira}} five or six {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} tall ({{convert|59.65|in|cm}} to {{convert|71.58|in|cm}}) and divided equally into five vertical panels.

A medium size {{transliteration|ja|kichō}}, for use inside a room, was three {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} tall by six shaku wide (about {{convert|35.79|in|cm}} by {{convert|71.58|in|cm}}), with the {{transliteration|ja|katabira}} four or five {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} tall ({{convert|47.72|in|cm}} to {{convert|59.65|in|cm}}) and divided equally into four vertical panels.

The smallest type, generally only used for {{nihongo3|curtained sleeping platforms used by royalty during the Heian period|帳台|chōdai}}, was two {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} tall by one {{transliteration|ja|shaku}}, five {{transliteration|ja|sun}} wide (about {{convert|23.86|in|cm}} by {{convert|17.895|in|cm}}) and divided equally into three vertical panels. This last type was generally used to veil the pillow where the noble woman slept, with the {{transliteration|ja|te}} being made of rosewood or red sandalwood.

The {{transliteration|ja|kichō}} 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.{{cite book |last1=Frédéric |first1=Louis |others=Käthe Roth (translator) |title=Japan Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&q=Kich%C5%8D+curtain&pg=PA514 |access-date=August 18, 2011 |date=April 30, 2005|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-01753-6 |page= 514}} Today, they are most often used as decorations or to hide boxes or other unsightly messes in a home.{{cn|date=February 2020}}

In former times, they would often be used to hide noble women from public eyes when they visited shrines or temples, and to provide additional privacy for the women at home.{{cite book|title=The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon|first=Shōnagon|last=Sei|author-link=Sei Shōnagon|others=Ivan I. Morris (translator)|publisher=Columbia University Press|date=April 15, 1991|page=288|isbn=0-231-07337-2}} Smaller versions called {{nihongo||差几帳|sashikichō}} 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), {{transliteration|ja|kichō}} were rare, but possibly still used in the houses of {{transliteration|ja|daimyō}}.{{cite book | first=Edward S. | last=Morse | title=Japanese Homes and their Surroundings | publisher=Charles E. Tuttle Company | isbn=0-8048-0998-4 | author-link= Edward S. Morse |date=1885 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52868 |chapter-url=https://www.kellscraft.com/JapaneseHomes/JapaneseHomesCh03.html |chapter=3: Interiors}}

File:Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Emaki4L.JPG|{{transliteration|ja|Kichō}} used behind {{transliteration|ja|sudare}} blinds for gender segregation; the sleeves of the women protrude from behind the screens, while the men sit on the {{transliteration|ja|engawa}} outside. 13th-century illustration from The Diary of Lady Murasaki.

File:Empress Shoshi and son.jpg|Imperial apartments. Empress Shōshi, her infant son Atsuhira, and an unidentified lady are screened by {{transliteration|ja|kichō}}. Below, her father Fujiwara no Michinaga and her lady-in-waiting, likely Murasaki Shikibu.

• {{transliteration|ja|Byōbu}} (folding screen)
• List of partitions of traditional Japanese architecture
• Pipe and drape
• Purdah
• {{transliteration|ja|Sudare}} (reed blind)

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Commons category-inline|Kichō}}
• [http://www.iz2.or.jp/kizoku/chodo.html 彩る調度の品々] {{in lang|ja}}

{{Japanese architectural elements}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kicho}}

Category:Furnishings

Category:Japanese traditions

Category:Japanese bamboowork

Category:Japanese words and phrases

Category:Partitions in traditional Japanese architecture

Category:Portable furniture