Traditional Japanese fabric dividers
Noren
(
暖簾
)
are traditional
Japanese
fabric
dividers hung between rooms, on walls, in doorways, or in windows. They usually have one or more vertical slits cut from the bottom to nearly the top of the fabric, allowing for easier passage or viewing.
Noren
are rectangular and come in many different materials, sizes, colours, and patterns.
History
[
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]
The
noren
originated in
China
and was introduced to Japan during the late
Heian period
.
[1]
Japanese people originally used miscanthus, reeds, rice straw, and bamboo as barriers to the entrances of houses. Using fabric curtains as dividers was an idea imported from China around the same time as
Zen Buddhism
.
[2]
The term
noren
began to be used in the late
Kamakura period
. Merchants in the
Edo period
added store names or family crests to the
noren
to represent the business name or trademark, making the
noren
a symbol of credibility and reputation.
[1]
Homes
[
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]
Noren
were originally used to protect a house from wind, dust, and rain, as well as to keep a house warm on cold days and to provide shade on hot summer days.
[3]
They can also be used for decorative purposes or for dividing a room into two separate spaces.
Businesses
[
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]
Exterior
noren
are traditionally used by shops and restaurants as a means of protection from sun, wind, and
dust
, and for displaying a shop's name or
logo
.
[4]
Names are often Japanese characters, especially
kanji
, but may be
mon
emblems,
Japanese rebus monograms
, or abstract designs.
Noren
designs are generally traditional to complement their association with traditional establishments, but modern designs also exist. Interior
noren
are often used to separate dining areas from kitchens or other preparation areas, which also prevents smoke or smells from escaping.
Because a
noren
often features the shop name or logo, the word in Japanese may also refer to a company's brand value. Most notably, in Japanese accounting, the word
noren
is used to describe the
goodwill
of a company after an acquisition.
[5]
Sent?
(commercial bathhouses) also place
noren
across their entrances with the kanji
yu
(
湯
, lit. "hot water")
or the corresponding
hiragana
ゆ
, typically blue in color for men and red for women.
[6]
They are also hung in the front entrance to a shop to signify that the establishment is open for business, and they are always taken down at the end of the business day.
[7]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
- Media related to
Noren
at Wikimedia Commons
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Styles
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Types of building
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Roof styles
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Structural and spatial
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Rooms
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Furnishings
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Partitions
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Outdoor objects
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Measurements
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Organizations
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Related topics
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