hyōshi 表紙

The covers of a bound book *sasshibon 冊子本, or an accordion book *orihon 折本, or the outer-end section of a handscroll *kansubon 巻子本, used to protect and decorate. Hyōshi on Japanese books are made of plain, often colored, or patterned (woodblock-printed, stencil-dyed, etc.) paper, or fabric, often of silk, cotton, or damask. In general, hyōshi have a title strip *daisen 題簽 on the front. The backside *mikaeshi 見返 is often embellished with various forms of gold and silver ornamentation. In the case of a handscroll, the cover is usually made of fabric and its outer edge is folded to make a flap into which a thin strip of bamboo or metal *hassō 発装 can be inserted. A fabric strand or cord is attached to the center of the hassō to secure the scroll when rolled.
The decoration of handscroll hyōshi became highly developed during the Heian period, particularly in Buddhist scriptures sōshokukyō 装飾経. Hyōshi on albums of painting *gajō 画帖, especially of traditional stories, were often also exquisitely decorated after the Muromachi period. During the Edo period, illustrated popular stories *kusazōshi 草双紙 were classified according to the color of the cover, including *akahon 赤本 (red-books), *kurohon 黒本 (black-books), *aohon 青本 (blue-books), and *kibyōshi 黄表紙 (yellow-books).