kōraiberi 高麗縁

Also kōraibuchi 高麗縁, monkōraiberi 紋高麗縁. A decorated binding used to make the edge of a straw mat *tatami 畳. From the Heian period chrysanthemums and clouds were woven in black onto a white twill background, or in white onto a navy or brown ground. Traditionally, a large-patterned kōraiberi was used by royalty and shogun while a small pattern was used for courtiers and ministers. In the Momoyama and Edo periods, the same patterns were dyed onto white hemp cloth and used to edge tatami mats for the reception rooms of a temple or nobleman's house. In ordinary private residences the kōraiberi was used only on mats in the decorative alcove *tokonoma 床の間.