The Final Curtain
Linda Furiya | First appeared in Eat Magazine

Flashing neon and block-wide billboards may beckon the hungry diner, but there’s little that stirs the craving for a Japanese meal more than the heartwarming sight of a noren, the slit curtain swaying above the doorway of a restaurant.

Cheerful and familiar, these ubiquitous cloth dividers are symbolic of the nondescript eateries where customers squeeze elbow to elbow at matchbox-size counters while chefs prepare the house specialty - the yakitori, sushi, tempura or noodles. In these compact quarters, staff can keep an eye on the food and still shout tidings to every guest who curtsies through the curtain.

The noren is essential to the operation of a restaurant, serving as an all-in-one sign that is named banner, “Open’ and “Closing Up’ sign (depending on how it’s hung), and an elegant divider shielding guest from the outside world and the glances of passersby.

More high modern than folksy, the curtain’s design involves simple cotton fabric hung from a pole. It has changed little since its initial use in the Heian period (794-1185AD), when nonren, or bamboo blinds, where used to protect Zen temples against cold winter winds, and a lining of cloth, later called noren, insulated the wood blinds.

The noren was just as vital in the humid summer, indigo dyeing, an increasingly rare process, gave the fabric its original, characteristic blue colour and imparted a distinct scent known to ward off insects. A mid-section slit allowed the flow of cool breezes, while closing out sunlight.

With the advent of air-conditioning, the household noren slipped out of use. But with its simple lines and functionality, the noren remained well suited to family businesses and restaurants, who printed their insignia or specialty onto the fabic. So widespread was its use that the term noren seeped into the vernacular, so to say noren o jakeru, or “hanging up the ship curtain”, now means “opening for business”.

With renewed appreciation by contemporary eateries, freshly interpreted noren in silky fabrics and vivid colours re-evolving with the new century. Yet the timeless classic, fluttering in a doorway, continues to signify a clean, welcoming place with good food and a bow to tradition.