list of partitions of traditional Japanese architecture
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Traditional Japanese architecture uses post-and-lintel structures – vertical posts, connected by horizontal beams. Rafters are traditionally the only structural member used in Japanese timber framing that are neither horizontal nor vertical. The rest of the structure is non-load-bearing.{{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/JapaneseHomesCh01.html |chapter=1: The House}}{{cite web |title=hashira 柱 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hashira.htm |website=www.aisf.or.jp |publisher=JAANUS}}
While fixed walls are used, a variety of movable partitions are also used to fill the spaces between the pillars. They may be free-standing, hung from lintels,{{cite web |title=Shinden-zukuri 寝殿造 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/s/shindenzukuri.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} or, especially in later buildings, sliding panels{{efn|Sliding panels became more common in the Muromachi period, but were used in the Kamakura period (see Shoji#Hashira-ma equipment) and even in the Heian period (see image below)}} which can readily be removed from their grooves.{{cite web |title=Fusuma 襖 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/f/fusuma.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} Their type, number, and position are adjusted according to the weather without and the activities within. They are used to modify the view, light, temperature, humidity, and ventilation,{{cite AV media|people=Norihito Nakatani (Producing & Editing), Kenji Seo (Still Photography & Direction), Mayuka Toyoshima (Text), Haruya Susa, Mayuka Toyoshima, and Yohei Jimbo (Drawings), Kazuyuki Okada (web editing) |title=Transition of Kikugetsutei |journal=Cultural Magazine of Hashirama Equipment |date=October 28, 2015 |url=https://madoken.jp/en/research/study-on-hashirama-sochi-equipment-in-between/3079/ |series=Study on Hashirama-Sochi; Equipment In Between |publisher=Waseda University |format=Movie and illustrated text article, both available open-access online}} and to divide the interior space.[http://archive.artsmia.org/art-of-asia/architecture/japanese-audience-hall-interview.cfm Formal Audience Hall (Shoin)]. Interview with Matthew Welch, Curator of Japanese and Korean Art
The timbers are called :Wiktionary:はしら, the space between them is called {{transliteration|ja|hashira-}}:wiktionary:間#Etymology 2; thus, the items filling the {{transliteration|ja|hashira-ma}} are termed {{transliteration|ja|hashira-ma}} equipment.
Pictorial overview
File:Saikū Historical Museum - Display item04 - The palace of Saiô - Miniature model.jpg|Museum model of the Saikū, the Saiō's palace. An inner square room with plaster walls contains a {{transliteration|ja|chōdai}} sleeping canopy; a second inner room with {{transliteration|ja|kabeshiro}} wall-curtains contains {{transliteration|ja|byōbu}} folding screens; the far outer wall shows horizontally-hinged {{transliteration|ja|shitomi}} shutters, and the near outer wall has {{transliteration|ja|misu}} blinds. {{transliteration|ja|Kichō}} screens stand on the near side of the {{transliteration|ja|hishashi}} outer corridor, and on the short sides of the same corridor.
File:Saikū Historical Museum - Display item05 - The room of Saiô.jpg|A full-scale model of part of the same palace. The Saiō sits on a tatami dais, with a {{transliteration|ja|byōbu}} behind her, a {{transliteration|ja|kichō}} to her left, and a boxlike {{nihongo3|baldachin|帳台|chōdai}} to her right. Above and before her, a {{nihongo3|wall-curtain|壁代|kabeshiro}} is rolled and tied up. Museum reconstruction of the Heian period's Shinden style.
File:Genji emaki Kashiwagi.JPG|An 1100s (late Heian period) illustration, showing a {{transliteration|ja|misu}} bound in green cloth (rolled, above), a grey {{transliteration|ja|kabeshiro}} with multicoloured streamers (half of it tied up behind the {{transliteration|ja|misu}} hung from the same lintel), three {{transliteration|ja|kichō}} (two white with black streamers, and one orange with multicolour streamers), a {{transliteration|ja|byōbu}} (right), and {{transliteration|ja|fusuma}} (right rear, matching {{transliteration|ja|byōbu}}).
File:Sumiyoshi monogatari emaki, Tokyo, 2.jpg|Transition from Shinden style to Shoin style. Between the young man and the seated nun, sliding {{transliteration|ja|fusuma}}; behind them, non-sliding {{transliteration|ja|fusuma}}. On the young man's side, {{transliteration|ja|hajitomi}} shutters, horizontally split, with the upper half held up by hooks. On the nun's side, there are diagonally-planked sliding {{transliteration|ja|maira-do}}. Behind the young man speaking with the maidservant, similar non-sliding panels.
File:150425 Ishitani Residence Chizu Tottori pref Japan32s3.jpg|Sukiya style, early 20th century. {{transliteration|ja|Garasu-do}}, {{transliteration|ja|sudare}}, {{transliteration|ja|shōji}}, and plaster walls are visible. The {{transliteration|ja|garasu-do}} use large single glass panes, which would have been extremely expensive before float glass became available in the 1960s.
File:Imperial Throne of Shishinden in Kyoto Imperial Palace.jpg|Throne on display in the Kyoto Imperial Palace; from outside inwards, blue-bound {{transliteration|ja|misu}} blinds, pillar slots for {{transliteration|ja|shitomi}} shutters (currently removed), white {{transliteration|ja|kabeshiro}} (wall-curtains) caught up with red-and-black {{nihongo||野筋|nosuji}} ties, and {{transliteration|ja|chōdai}} (canopy and dais, in red and purple). Older styles often persist in rare ceremonial use.
By type
=Hanging=
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| width=20%|Type
!Photo !Description !Construction !History | ||
|---|---|---|
| {{nihongo | 簾|Sudare}} (and {{transliteration|ja|misu}}, fancy cloth-framed {{transliteration|ja|sudare}})
|File:Expo 2005 of Satsuki and Mei’s House 04.jpg]] |Stems are woven into a sheet, sometimes edged with cloth for durability |Phragmites reed, cat-tail stalks, pampas grass, or fine bamboo, held together by a few rows of thread woven around the stems; may be used as a blind, or mounted on a wooden frame to make {{transliteration|ja|sudare-shōji}}.{{cite web |title=Akari shouji |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/%7Ejaanus/deta/a/akarishouji.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}}{{cite web |title=Natsushouji |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/%7Ejaanus/deta/n/natsushouji.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} |Used throughout recorded history, still in use. | |
| {{nihongo | 暖簾|Noren}}
|File:ストリングのれん (87772348).jpg]] |A walk-through curtain |Cloth with vertical slits, cord (shown), or cords strung with beads of bamboo or other materials. |Have been associated with urban shop entrances since the late Kamakura period (early 1300s).{{cite web |title=JAANUS / noren 暖簾 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/n/noren.htm |website=www.aisf.or.jp}} Still in common use in the 21st century, especially at shop entrances and kitchen doors | |
| {{Nihongo3|{{lit|wall-curtain}}|壁代|Kabeshiro}}
|File:MET 2015 300 34b Burke website (cropped to kabeshiro).jpg]] |Lintel-mounted curtain, with ties |Made of narrow-loom cloth ({{transliteration|ja|tanmono}}). Similar to a {{transliteration|ja|kichō}}, which however is free-standing. Coloured streamers are called {{nihongo | 野筋|nosuji}}, and are ties for tying it up.{{cite web |title=JAANUS / kabeshiro 壁代 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/kabeshiro.htm |website=www.aisf.or.jp}}
|Archaic | |
| {{nihongo | 軟障|Zejyō}}
|Tab-top flat-panel curtains |Made from narrow-loom cloth ({{transliteration|ja|tanmono}}). May be illustrated or plain, often with strips in contrasting colours (note that in the image, only the interior ones are illustrated). |Used in Heian period. Still used on special occasions, such as the red-and-white {{transliteration|ja|zejyō}} used at festivals. | |
| {{nihongo3|{{lit|military encampment curtain}}|陣幕|Jinmaku}}
|File:Hiketa Hinamatsuri 12 cropped.jpg]] |Similar to {{transliteration|ja|zejyō}}, but used as a defensive perimeter around a military encampment |Tab-topped curtain hung on lines, often between posts in a field. |Sengoku and Edo periods. Obsolete. | ||
| {{nihongo | 蔀|Shitomi}}, including {{nihongo | 半蔀|hajitomi}}
|File:Murasaki Shikibu Nikki Gotoh1 detail.JPG]] |Heavy wood-lattice shutters |Usually horizontally split and hinged ({{transliteration|ja|hajitomi}}), but were occasionally vertically split and hinged.{{cite web |title=Shitomido 蔀戸 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/s/shitomido.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} When open, the upper half is held horizontal by hooks, and the lower half is either folded flat against the underside of the upper half and held by hooks, or removed and carried away. |Part of Shinden style. Obsolescent with advent of sliding doors, ~Kamakura period. |
=Free-standing=
| class="wikitable sortable" | ||
| width=20%|Type
!Photo !Description !Construction !History | ||
|---|---|---|
| {{nihongo | 衝立|Tsuitate}}
|File:舞姫図・紅葉蒔絵衝立-Freestanding Screen with Dancer MET 29 100 520.jpeg]] |A free-standing single-panel partition.{{cite web |title=Tsuitate shouji |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/%7Ejaanus/deta/t/tsuitateshouji.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} |Wood, or wood frame covered with cloth or paper, often painted. Feet may be integral, or a separate stand into which a {{transliteration|ja|fusuma}}-like panel can be slotted. Shown is a {{nihongo | 昆明池|konmeichi}} panel, 6 {{transliteration|ja|shaku}} ({{cvt|181.8|cm}}) tall; most are shorter seated-height panels.{{cite web |title=Konmeichi-no-shouji 昆明池障子 |url=http://aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/konmeichinoshouji.htm |website=aisf.or.jp |publisher=JAANUS}}
|Dates from the 600s or earlier. One of the oldest types of screen. Still in use. |
| {{nihongo3|{{lit|windbreak}}|屏風|Byōbu}}
|File:Kamerschermen Vroege lente-Rijksmuseum AK-MAK-1464-A.jpeg]] |A free-standing folding screen. |Paper on frame. In Japan, these are rarely left plain; they are usually painted. | | ||
| {{nihongo | 几帳|Kichō}}
|T-shaped stand with curtain, with ties |Made from parallel lengths of narrow-loom cloth ({{transliteration|ja|tanmono}}). |Used in Heian Japan;{{cite web |title=JAANUS / kichoumen 几帳面 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/kichoumen.htm |website=www.aisf.or.jp}} all but obsolete by the Edo Period{{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}} | |
| {{nihongo | 帳台|Chōdai}}
|Boxlike baldachin |Box of curtains hung from corner poles, free-standing |Thought to date from 400s. Used throughout the Heian period (794–1185) and, by the high aristocracy, into the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Towards the end of the Heian period it shifted location, and finally became synonymous with an enclosed sleeping room. Characteristic of Shinden style residences.{{cite web |title=choudai 帳台 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/c/choudai.htm |website=www.aisf.or.jp |publisher=JAANUS}} Archaic, except in ceremonial Imperial use. | |
| {{nihongo3|{{lit|rack}}|架|Ka}}
|File:Whose Sleeves (Tagasode).jpg]] |Garment rack. |A rack or clothesstand, used to store, air and display garments. Often similar to an uncovered {{transliteration|ja|tsuitate}} in structure.{{cite web |title=Whose Sleeves? (Tagasode) |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45375 |website=www.metmuseum.org}} | |
=Sliding ({{transliteration|ja|hiki-do}})=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |
| width=20%|Type
!Photo !Description !Construction !History | |
|---|---|
| {{nihongo | 襖|Fusuma}}
|Opaque lightweight panels, latterly sliding.{{cite web |last1=Larson |first1=Brooke |title=What are Shōji? Complete Guide to Japanese Paper Screens |url=https://japanobjects.com/features/shoji |website=Japan Objects}} |Wooden frame covered in opaque paper or cloth, modernly also vinyl. May be painted or printed. |Originated in 600s; made sliding in late Heian period (1100s). In common use in the 21st century. |
| {{nihongo | 障子|Shōji}}
|File:Dejima Nagasaki Japan31s3.jpg]] |Translucent panels, usually sliding. |Wooden frame covered in translucent washi paper or cloth, modernly also plastics and nonwoven fabrics. |Similar to {{transliteration|ja|fusuma}} |
| {{nihongo3|{{lit|rain-door}}|雨戸|Ama-do}} (See Sukiya style and {{transliteration|ja|shōji}} articles for details.)
|File:Storm-door,amado,narita-city,japan.JPG]] |Storm shutters used to close the building at night. |Unperforated wooden or metallic panels, usually sliding. Run in a groove outside the pillars, and usually outside the engawa (porch). Stacked in a to-bukuro when not in use. |1600s-present | |
| {{nihongo|Garasu-do|wiktionary:ガラス戸|extra=lit. "glass door"}}
See shoji article for limited details. |File:Fukiya katayama house02s3200.jpg]] |Glass panels |Mullioned or single-pane. Often found as sliding doors in two grooves outside the engawa (porch), but inside the ama-do. Also used in interiors. |1800s-~1960 plate glass, ~1960-present with float glass | |
| {{nihongo|Maira-do|舞良戸}}
|File:Tashiro Family's Old Residence 02.jpg]] |Plank-and-batten wooden doors |Battens (mairako) may be set crosswise to planks, may cover joins, or may act as a frame into which the planks are set, appearing on both sides.{{cite web |title=mairado 舞良戸 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/%7Ejaanus/deta/m/mairado.htm |website=JAANUS Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}}{{cite web |title=mairako 舞良子 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/m/mairako.htm |website=JAANUS Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} |Popular 1100s-1600s | |
| {{nihongo|To-fusuma|戸襖}}, including {{nihongo|sugi-do|杉戸}}
|Solid wooden sliding doors |{{transliteration|ja|Sugi-do}} made of {{transliteration|ja|sugi}}, and flat. Much heavier than frame doors such as {{transliteration|ja|fusuma}}. | | |
| {{transliteration|ja|Kōshi}}
(see Shōji#Frame) |Barred or latticed openwork panels |May be fixed, sliding, or hinged. Modernly, may be backed with glass. The rails are often grouped in clusters; this clustering is called fukiyose (吹寄).{{cite web |title=Koshidaka shouji|url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/%7Ejaanus/deta/k/koshidakashouji.htm |website=JAANUS -- the on-line Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology}} A wide variety of traditional patterns exist. | |
=Fixed (walls)=
See also
- JAANUS; free online Japanese architectural dictionary
- {{commons category-inline|Partitions of traditional Japanese architecture}}
Notes
{{notelist}}