Folding screen

A sliding door or wooden shoji screen is set on a stand and used as a partition or screen. It is used to separate seats in entranceways, tatami rooms, restaurants, etc. It is an abbreviation of 'tsuitate shoji' (folding screen). 'Tsuitate' is a Yamato word meaning 'to push up'. Considering that this is also called 'byobu' in Chinese, folding screens must have been made in Japan since ancient times. In the past, they were made from straw mats or straw straw, but in the Heian period, folding screens made of cloth, silk, or paper were created, as were 'tsuitate' (through shoji), which were sliding screens with windows cut open and curtains hung over them, and were widely used in the Imperial Court and the homes of aristocrats. In the early modern and modern era, as folding screens began to be used by the general public, the materials and designs became more abundant and their uses diversified, and today even Western-style folding screens are being made.

[Kazuko Koizumi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

襖(ふすま)障子や板障子などに台をつけて立て、間仕切りや目隠しに用いるもの。玄関や座敷、また飲食店などで座席を分け屏障(へいしょう)したりするのに用いる。衝立障子の略。「ついたて」は「突き立てる」意の大和(やまと)ことば。中国語ではこれも屏風とよぶことから考えると、衝立は古くから日本でつくられていたものであろう。古くは莚(むしろ)や薦(こも)などでつくられたようであるが、平安時代には布、絹、紙を張った襖障子の衝立や、通(ず)障子（透(すか)し障子）といい、襖障子に窓をあけ御簾(みす)を掛けたものなどが生まれ、宮中や貴族住宅で盛んに用いられた。近世、近代になり一般民衆が使うようになると材料、意匠はより豊富になり、用途も多様化し、現代では洋風意匠の衝立もつくられている。

［小泉和子］

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