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futon (FOO-ton, FYOO-ton) - n., a thin mattress of tufted cotton batting or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame.
In Japanese, the mattress is strictly on the floor -- the bedframe-converting-to-sofa is a Western innovation, from after the introduction of the concept and word in the mid-1870s. Note that meaning of the individual kanji 布団 isn't very useful, as it's an example of using kanji for the phonetic spelling (ateji) rather than a semantic compound -- they mean "cloth" + "mass," as opposed to the original spelling of its Middle Chinese source, 蒲团 (now pronounced pútuán) meaning "rush cushion," originally for kneeling on during Zen meditation.
---L.
In Japanese, the mattress is strictly on the floor -- the bedframe-converting-to-sofa is a Western innovation, from after the introduction of the concept and word in the mid-1870s. Note that meaning of the individual kanji 布団 isn't very useful, as it's an example of using kanji for the phonetic spelling (ateji) rather than a semantic compound -- they mean "cloth" + "mass," as opposed to the original spelling of its Middle Chinese source, 蒲团 (now pronounced pútuán) meaning "rush cushion," originally for kneeling on during Zen meditation.
---L.
