Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings

by Edward Sylvester Morse

Fig. 109.—Hikite.

Fig. 110.—Hikite with cord.

The outside screens, or shōji, which take the place of our windows, are those screens which border the verandah, or come on that side of the room towards the exterior wall of the house. These consist of a light frame-work made of thin bars of wood crossing and matched into each other, leaving small rectangular interspaces. The lower portion of the shōji, to the height of a foot from the floor, is usually a wood-panel, as a protection against careless feet as well as to strengthen the frame. The shōji are covered on the outside with white paper. The only light the room receives when the [pg 131] shōji are closed comes through this paper, and the room is flooded with a soft diffused light which is very agreeable. The hikite for pushing the shōji back is arranged by one of the rectangular spaces being papered on the opposite side, thus leaving a convenient recess for the fingers.

Sometimes little holes or rents are accidentally made in this paper-covering of the shōji; and in the mending of these places the Japanese, ever true in their artistic feeling, repair the damage, not by square bits of paper as we should probably, but by cutting out pretty designs of cherry or plum blossoms and patching the rents with these. When observing this artistic device I have often wondered how the broken panes of some of our country houses must look to a Japanese,—the repairs being effected by the use of dirty bags stuffed with straw, or more commonly by battered hats jammed into the gaps. Sometimes the frame of a shōji gets sprung or thrown out of its true rectangular shape; this is remedied by inserting at intervals in the meshes of the frame-work elastic strips of bamboo, and the constant pressure of these strips in one direction tends to bring the [pg 132] frame straight again. [Fig. 111] illustrates the appearance of this; the curved lines representing the elastic strips.

Fig. 111.—Straightening shōji frame.

There are innumerable designs employed in the shōji; and in this, as in many other parts of the interior, the Japanese show an infinite amount of taste and ingenuity. [Fig. 112] illustrates one of these ornamental forms. At present in the cities it is common to see a narrow strip of window glass inserted across the shōji about two feet from the floor. It seems odd at first sight to see it placed so low, until one recalls the fact that the inmates sit on the mats, and the glass in this position is on a level with their line of vision. As a general rule the designs for the shōji are more simple than those employed for certain exterior openings which may be regarded as windows, while those which cover the openings between the rooms are most complex and elaborate. Further reference, however, will be made to these in the proper place.