The hot and sultry Japanese summer is unpleasant to say the least. The cold of winter can be overcome by simply putting on more clothing or turning on the heat, but the only ways to resist heat and humidity are by blocking out the sun's rays and allowing the unfettered passage of air. It is for this reason that Japanese architecture favors a minimum of walls and the use of furniture that can be easily moved to create an open-air style. Although this leads to a loss of visual privacy, there are several means of mitigating this loss while still providing optimal air circulation and obstructing the sun's rays.
Split Curtains
Noren are ungathered split curtains made of cloth or hemp which were used as shades in front of homes as far back as the Heian period. Much later they came to replace the doors of large shops to allow the easy passage of customers. Today they continue this tradition primarily for drinking and eating establishments serving Japanese food.
In addition to providing unusual advertising space for a particular enterprise by displaying the shop's name, trademark, and specialty, noren are used to indicate when a place is open for business. If no noren can be seen, or if the noren are still behind the door, the establishment is not yet open.
In the home, noren serve as attractive space dividers. They are often hung to block viewing into the kitchen or some other private area from the formal entranceway or from the passageway.
Of all the forms of screening deployed in Japanese interior design, the noren is the softest. Not only is the material soft, but the way in which it is used creates a soft, gentle effect. Since it flutters in the breeze, the noren enables one to "see" the wind, and, when used in conjunction with wind chimes that enable one to "hear" the wind, it is really as though one is "experiencing" the wind. This produces a particularly refreshing feeling during the hot summer months.
The fact that one has to touch the noren before passing through lends it not only a visual but also a tactile appeal. In fact, the Japanese feel no displeasure at brushing the noren with their heads as they pass through an entranceway. This, however, may be an unfamiliar custom for others, and, since there are times when one's hair may become disheveled, care should be taken in selecting the most appropriate place and height for noren.
Noren may be made into any shape or size.
Noren may also be made of strands of hemp, which customers push aside as they enter or leave a shop.
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