shoji

[ shoh-zhee, -jee ]

noun

, plural sho·ji, sho·jis.

1. a light screen consisting of a framework of wood covered with paper or other translucent material, used originally in Japanese homes as one of a series of sliding panels between the interior and exterior or between two interior spaces.

shoji

/ -dʒiː; ˈʃəʊʒiː /

noun

1. a rice-paper screen in a sliding wooden frame, used in Japanese houses as a partition
2. any similar screen

Word History and Origins

Origin of shoji¹

1875–80; < Japanese shōji, earlier shaũji < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese zhàngzi fence

Word History and Origins

Origin of shoji¹

C19: from Japanese, from shō to separate + ji a piece

Example Sentences

Delicate, sliding shoji screens served as stage curtains for the concerts her mom put on, starring local schoolkids and church friends.

From Seattle Times

A shoji screen is folded to reveal a closet glowing with Chinese opera costumes.

From Los Angeles Times

The roof is followed by a moon, shoji screen and a maple tree with a single leaf.

From Seattle Times

My grandmother, who would soon be a war widow, recalled the crackle of wooden houses consumed like kindling, how the flames danced as the shoji paper screens caught fire.

From New York Times

Her firm is seeing a rise in interest for such things as Turkish-pattern rugs and Japanese shoji screens, she says, and “we just did a tropical Hawaiian powder room,” featuring palm leaf wallpaper.

From Seattle Times