jōshō　縄床

Also written 縄牀. Also jōton 縄榻. A rough chair, originally from India, with the back or seat wrapped in rope or cord, that was used by Buddhist priests, especially of the Zen sect. The priest may sit on these chairs in cross-legged fashion, an appropriate position for meditation. Jōshō appears in portrait paintings of priests *chinsō 頂相 in the Muromachi period painting of priest Kikō 喜江 from Kenchōji 建長寺 in Kanagawa Prefecture. Although there are few actual extant chairs of this type, there is an Edo period example kept at Daitokuji Shinjuan 大徳寺真珠庵 in Kyoto.