Sudare are also more than blinds or screens in that there are fascinating subtleties beyond their functional use. They also play a role in concealing and partitioning. In this sense, they embody the notions of duality and asymmetry: separating two spaces while connecting them; one-way masking or concealing. “[…] it becomes this device which sharpens the human sensibility.” ⁽³⁾

Since the Nara Period, su, as it was called during that time, functioned as a door or a wall to partition the rooms. As one of the partition devices, it suggested space beyond it while hiding it from view. During the Heian Period (794–1185), the misu (name changed from su; literally means “holy blind”) were amongst the indispensable furnishings in the imperial court.⁽²⁾ Used in nobles’ rooms, these bamboo blinds were “dressed” in silk, and embellished in gold embroidery and tassels.

Misu of the Heian Period were often used on the four sides of shinden-zukuri, artistocratic mansions of Kyoto. This gave views on the outside landscape, but also on the movement of men outside the house. Hence, the expression sudare-goshi (“through the sudare”)⁽³⁾ was born.

During those periods, not only were they purposed to separate the rooms, but also to separate the Emperor or the nobles from the masses, as both a physical and symbolic division. In this sense, it established a code of rank by forbidding the ordinary people to look directly at the Emperor’s face. Thus, it was historically used to shield the “heavenly ruler” because a visage so noble required a respectful distance.⁽³⁾ It was not until the 1860s that commoners were allowed to utilize these, and misu were then called sudare.

Misu were also hung in temples and shrines during Medieval Japan (1185-1603) to symbolically represent a separation between the spiritual world and the secular world.

During the Heian Period, sudare was used for seductive games, such as revealing a piece of silk to both hide and hint at the identity of a person hidden behind it. In the 20th chapter of Makura no Sōshi, one reads this passage: “[...] On the interior, on the other side of the misu, kara ginu of cherry blossom, fuji and yamabuki that the courtisans wore nonchalantly on the shoulder..[…] At this moment, on the side of the Emperor's seat, the sound of the steps of the service of the dishes.”

It was also a barometer of etiquette that played with, and regulated the codes of intimacy, for example, between a court lady and a man who is not part of her family. While the lady was concealed from the man who was obligated to maintain a physical distance, she was able to peep through the screen to see the man. It was in her power to decide to raise the screen at a given moment, or allow him to approach closer. Any unpermitted move from the man would be considered compromising of the lady’s honor.

During the Edo Period (1603 - 1868), the pilgrimage of the Tokugawa Shogun passed through the towns of Kaneiji, Ueno, or Shiba. In order to prevent any unexpected attack from enemies who were hidden behind the sudare, all the houses that were situated along the way were ordered to keep them rolled up.⁽³⁾

In a similar token, boats transporting commoners were obligated to use sudare instead of the more encumbering shoji screens. The flexible and agile nature of its construction allowed the inspectors to quickly lift the blinds, thereby faciliating swift last-minute inspections that cracked down on prostitution.⁽¹⁾

Despite the new building techniques and influences that evolved Japanese architecture and interiors over history, the design and principles of the original misu and sudare blinds have basically remained unchanged and unsubstituted since the Nara Period. Most importantly, they embody both the high level of Japanese craftsmanship and nuanced symbolic roles throughout history that goes beyond their function as we perceive them today. Behind the sudare, which we often see hanging outside or inside traditional Japanese homes which craftsmen such as Mr. Tanaka painstakingly make, their legacy reminds us that culture can imbue meaning and more subtle, symbolic functions to an object than what meets the eyes.