Byobu Guide: History Of Byobu (Japanese Screens)
Part I - Part II
Screens as Status symbols
In the subsequent Azuchi-Momoyama (1568-1603) and Edo (1603-1868) periods, the popularity of byobu continued to increase, and samurai lords displayed screens in their homes as symbols of wealth and power. As a result, byobu began to be made using gold leaf backgrounds, and more colourful painting techniques than up until that time. The sheen from the gold leaf covering also helped bring light into the otherwise dark castles and homes of the period.
Present Day
Screen making has been an industry in decline ever since the late Edo period. These days, there are very few places still making authentic byobu, and many are manufactured cheaply by machine in Tokyo (which has no screen-making tradition) or even imported from China. The maker of our screens, Iohara Seijudo in Kyoto, is a family-run business now in its 3rd generation, and the only screen studio in Japan still making screens from the very start to finish of the manufacturing process, entirely by hand. See our guide to the making of screens for an overview of the manufacturing process.
