- tokonoma
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/toh'keuh noh"meuh/, n.(in Japanese architecture) a shallow alcove for the display of kakemonos or flower arrangements.[1895-1900; < Japn, equiv. to toko (raised) floor + -no grammatical particle + ma room]
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In a Japanese room, an alcove with a low platform, used for the display of a flower arrangement and hanging scroll or other art objects.A feature of the shoin-zukuri style, the tokonoma is the focal point and spiritual centre of the interior of almost every traditional Japanese house. It finds its origins in the private altar space of the Zen Buddhist monk, which contained a hanging Buddhist scroll and a narrow wooden table with an incense burner and votive candles.* * *
alcove in a Japanese room, used for the display of paintings, pottery, flower arrangements, and other forms of art. Household accessories are removed when not in use so that the tokonoma found in almost every Japanese house, is the focal point of the interior.A feature of the shoin architectural style, which originated in the Kamakura period (1192–1333), the tokonoma developed from the private altar ( butsudan) in Zen Buddhist priests' homes. The butsudan consisted of an alcove containing a narrow wooden table with an incense burner, votive candles, and flower vessels placed before a Buddhist scroll hung on the wall. In its adaptation to the Japanese house, it was used exclusively for the display of art objects.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
