Byōbu ｜Edo Hyōgu

Byōbu is a furniture item used for room division and decoration, consisting of screens made of washi paper mounted on wooden frames, connected by paper or metal hinges or cords, allowing it to stand when folded into valley or mountain folds. The number of panels ranges from two to eight or more to make it stand independently. Unlike fusuma sliding doors, they can be opened like a fan even in spaces without threshold or lintel grooves, blocking drafts and obstructing sightlines.
A type of byōbu called furosaki byōbu is used in tea ceremonies sadō. It is an indispensable tool reflecting the tea master's taste, raising the authenticity of the tea room space for solemnity. The surface washi paper used ranges from the authentic hon-torinoko to frequently found highly decorative types including kinsunago, Edo karakami, and Kyo Karakami.

Names of Byōbu parts

In modern times, golden byōbu pieces with six or eight folds are often placed as the background in the banquet halls in hotels or seating arrangements for celebratory occasions. They serve to highlight figures in the foreground and enhance the overall impression of space and time with greater splendor. Byōbu screens used as partitions are also featured in interior design magazines from Europe and the US.

Byōbu for dynamic expression of two-dimensional paintings

While the honshi (artpiece) of painting or calligraphy is flat on kakejiku (hanging scroll) or gakusō (framed work), it can be more dynamically and lively expressed when applied for example to a tall byōbu screen. Today, not only in Japan but also internationally, numerous artists actively embrace Japanese traditional byōbu as a medium to expand their expressive range.

The 62nd Exhibition of Mounted Works and Interior Decoration (May 2019)
Artwork by Kohei Nagasawa

The 65th Exhibition of Mounted Works and Interior Decoration (June 2022)

Traditional Techniques or Methods

For byōbu, gaku, fusuma, and tsuitate, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
1. The base pasting shall be performed using the methods of "honeshibari (bone binding)," "betabari (full-coverage pasting)," "minobari (shifted layer pasting)," "mino’osae (shifted layer covering," "mawarisuki," and "fukurobari (bag-style pasting)."
2. The byōbu hinges shall be attached using the "wing attachment" method
3. The finishing pasting shall be performed using the "uwabari (top covering)" method.

(Source: The notification of designation as Traditional Crafts by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)

When introducing new Edo-hyōgu products or replacing existing ones, we sincerely hope you will choose works of fine materials crafted using traditional techniques. We would be honored if you would entrust the work to the hyōgu artisans (members) of the Associations of Tokyo Hyougu Kyouji Interior, who carry on the tradition of the Edo hyōgu.

For inquiry or ordering Edo-hyōgu works, please contact:
(Website of the Associations of
Tokyo Hyougu Kyouji Interior)