The Pursuit of Well-being by Elderly Japanese Women and the Symbolism of Bridal Noren Door Curtains

This paper, based on fi eldwork, fi rstly aims to explore the symbolic meanings of Hanayome noren which is a folk object of Nanao originated in the 19th century, through explaining the features of Japanese kinship and family structure. It secondly aims to discuss how elderly women in Nanao City (Ishikawa Prefecture) have pursued a sense of well-being by performing exhibitions of Hanayome Noren (bridal colorful split door curtains—I will call them bridal noren). Bridal noren, which is made using a traditional silk-dyeing technique known as Kaga Yuzen, is presented to the bride before her wedding ceremony by her mother, and its pattern and arrangement is decided by her. The noren plays an important role in the rite of passage of a woman’s marriage into spouse’s family, signifying that she is now an offi cial member of the new family. It has no practical use after the wedding ceremony. Despite its sensuous beauty, it is normally just hidden away in the back of a dresser drawer. However, the women in their 60s—having retreated from their roles as housewives and/or shop proprietors—have recently rediscovered the value of their noren’s sensuous beauty, taking them out of storage in order to exhibit them as art objects. This paper examines how noren serves as a medium at an alliance between natal and conjugal families and how their feelings of well-being are expressed through serving as storytellers during exhibitions of noren.