布団

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Japanese

Kanji in this term

Grade: 5
(ateji)
とん
Grade: 5
goon tōon
Alternative spellings
布團 (kyūjitai)
蒲団
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布団 (futon): traditional Japanese futon bedding, with the 敷布団 (shiki-buton) on the bottom, and the 掛け布団 (kake-buton) on top.

Etymology

Borrowed from written Chinese, possibly early Mandarin 蒲團蒲团 (pútuán), likely as part of the importation of Zen Buddhism, for which practice these were originally used. First cited in Japanese to a text from the early-mid 1200s with the "meditation cushion" sense.[1]

Originally referred literally to a (, “bulrush, cattail”) (tuán, “ball”), from the way these were round cushions made from woven bulrush leaves.[1][2]

After the term was borrowed, the usage and construction of these cushions changed and the connection with bulrushes was weakened, leading to the simpler character (fu, cloth) being used as a replacement for (fu, bulrush, cattail).

Pronunciation

Noun

()(とん) (futon

  1. (Buddhism, specifically Zen) a round cushion made of woven bulrush leaves, used for zazen seated Zen meditation
  2. short for 座布団 (zabuton, “seat / sitting cushion”)
  3. (most common sense in modern usage) traditional Japanese-style bedding, more specifically the 敷布団 (shiki-buton, mattress, literally spreading / laying-down futon) or 掛け布団 (kake-buton, duvet or quilt, literally covering futon), or a set of both, spread directly on a tatami floor
    布団(ふとん)()
    futon o shiku
    to lay out the futon → to make the bed
    布団(ふとん)をあげる
    futon o ageru
    to raise the futon → to put away the bedding

Usage notes

  • 布団 may refer to just the mattress, just the comforter, or the entire bed consisting of both.
  • The Japanese term has no "furniture" sense, unlike the borrowed English term futon, which can refer to a specific kind of sofa-bed.

Derived terms

Descendants

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 蒲団・布団”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ 布団”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  3. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN