The Japanese word Shoji or Soji as some people spell it means "something that blocks a passage through." Shoji window blinds is a translucent screen that is made up of wooden frame and it is covered with rice paper.
Shoji paper blinds will protect you from the harmful rays of the sun and you can find varied forms of Shoji like slatted blinds, bamboo blinds, and rattan.
Short Story of Shoji
During the 8th and 12th century Japan, the Shoji screens and Shoji Blinds are used to separate the rooms in the household. Because walls in the house are seldom, people use Shoji paper screens and blinds to segment different sections of the house. During that time, the folding screens, free footing screens and the roll-up rattan blinds are called Shoji. You could find gold folding screens at the back of the emperor and the empress dolls.
During the 12th century, the famed Light Shoji was crafted, they called it Akari Shoji. It resembles the shoji that we know today.
Sipping tea is a national pastime in Japan. In the late 16th century, the tea ceremony in the Land of the Rising Sun increases. Fame came to the shoji paper blinds with no hip board because of the light they provide into the tea room.
The Akari shoji paper blinds are not that durable against rain, dirt, or wind so because of practicality, a hip board was added later into the Akari shoji paper blinds. It has frames that are made up of grids, wood, and paper that brightens the room and the light that comes up from the shoji paper brings comfort and calm because of its soft glow. It also bestowed people with a sense of privacy.
Beauty and Romance
If you are romantic and you love a good conversation, then shoji window blinds is fit for you. With the aid of an eastern arrangement or even in the merging of designs from east to west, the addition of the shoji paper blinds will make your house become serenely beautiful. You just need to pull aside the blinds and the awesome night sky is revealed in your eyes and your loved ones.
Shoji Japanese blinds are suited to different types of windows including wood blinds that give beauty and warmth. The slats of the window blinds that are made up of basswood are covered with a sealant that will protect you from the ultraviolet rays and it has a pretty, long lasting finish.
The shoji blinds do not warp easily and it is very easy to clean. They also have beautiful art prints or artistic rendering that makes them more charming. The hand painted custom shoji blinds is the new craze now.
Shoji window blinds transcends time and culture. You could mix east and west cultures or you could also stick to east culture and design if you call yourself a purist. But whoever you are, Shoji window blinds will surely captivate your heart.