Tips for buying a zabuton
- What is a zabuton?
- What is the meaning of the word "zabuton"?
- How are zabuton cushions made at the-dharma-store.com?
- What are the size and shape of a zabuton?
- Uses of a zabuton
- Anecdotes about the zabuton
1. What is a zabuton?
The zabuton is a floor cushion originating from Japan. It is a rectangular shape intended to make sitting or kneeling more comfortable and possible for long periods of time.
In Japanese culture, these cushions were once reserved for high-ranking people in the Japanese imperial court. Today, zabutons have become an object of everyday life in Japan. They can be found in the catalogue of the-dharma-store.com as they are also a very useful tool to help us in our extended meditation sessions. In this case, they are intended to prevent the dispersion of heat from your body to the ground and make it easier to maintain the posture for long periods of time.
2. What is the meaning of the word "zabuton"?
The ZA means sitting, and the second part of the word means futon, the well-known thick cotton floor mattress. A zabuton is therefore essentially a futon for sitting.
3. How are zabuton cushions made at the-dharma-store.com?
In Japan, zabutons are created by layering and folding the cotton several times until a perfect shape is achieved.
In order to be removable and completely washable for obvious hygienic reasons, the zabuton the-dharma-store.com is composed as such:
- a cover made of high-quality, finely woven, extremely hard-wearing cotton. The cotton is coloured with natural pigments and a pattern, such as the infinity knot, is added for aesthetic reasons.
- The filling is made of 100% natural cotton balls which are compressed and sewn into a white cotton cover which is also made of white cotton.
Like all high-quality zabuton cushions, our zabuton cushions are entirely handmade and the difference in quality is immediately evident by sight and touch. From cutting the initial cotton to sewing, filling and finishing, everything is done by hand by one of the oldest families of tailors in Thamel, Nepal.
4. What are the size and shape of a zabuton?
Usually rectangular in size, the shape of these traditional cushions has been developed because by standing on the knees, a person creates a rectangular shape on the floor. The important thing is of course that the size and thickness of the zabuton avoid any contact with the ground. Of course, zabutons are not limited to a particular style, they can be of any shape and style you could imagine.
Our zabutons have a very large rectangular shape of 76cm by 84cm.
5. Uses of a zabuton
Various uses of zabuton are practiced daily in Japan and elsewhere.
Zabutons are sometimes used as chair cushions to help you sit longer and more comfortably.
Zabuton has also become an indispensable tool for meditators as it helps to create the ideal posture and stability necessary to meditate comfortably for long periods of time.
Another use is yoga. Zabuton can be used as a cushion to support the head, while lying on the back or to sit while stretching, or to protect the knees from the ground if necessary.
6. Anecdotes about the zabuton
Here are some anecdotes about zabuton.
As it should be, the zabuton is THE cushion provided to Sumo fans who follow their idols in an arena during a Sumo or Honbasho tournament. Among these wrestlers, the Yokozuna, whose rank is the highest a Sumo wrestler can reach, are considered demigods. It is not uncommon to see during a yokozuna's defeat that spectators show their disapproval by throwing their zabuton into the ring.
Zabuton has always been an important part of the Japanese art of storytelling, rakugo. The storyteller sits on his zabuton on the stage to tell stories in a spectacular way to the audience.