Hanging board (Kakeban)

Japanese: 懸盤(掛盤) - かけばん

A type of tray for placing tableware. The usual style is an inset-cornered, folded-out tray with a four-legged stand with a tatami-ruled surface attached. The four legs, with their large hollowed-out lattice-like openings, extend outward in an arc beyond the surface of the tray, giving it a characteristically stable appearance. The name kakeban likely comes from the fact that this type of stand is attached underneath the tray. They began to appear in literature from the Heian period, and the Goka Shidai records that "Tennonin o kakeban o kezhi" (The Palace Masters' Guidebook), which shows that they were initially used at imperial banquets and other events only by people of fifth rank or higher who were allowed to enter the palace.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

食器をのせる膳の一種。入角折敷（いりずみおしき）形の盤に，畳ずりのある四脚置台をとりつけるのが通形。脚間を格狭間（こうざま）形に大きくくり抜いた四脚が，弧を描いて盤面より外に大きく張り出し，安定した形姿を示すのが特徴的である。懸盤の名称は，盤下にこの種の置台を伴うことにもとづくのであろう。文献では平安時代から散見されるようになり，《江家次第》には〈殿上人懸盤居之〉とあるから，当初は昇殿を許された五位以上の位の人に限り，宮中の宴席などで使用されたことが知られる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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