●　●　●　Fusuma Sliding Doors　●　●　●
	Fusuma are sliding wooden doors that are featured in traditional Japanese houses. These doors play several roles within the home. Firstly, they serve as entranceways to rooms. They are used as make-shift walls to separate rooms. Secondly, the fusuma can also be removed in order to make rooms bigger. Sometimes these portable walls are covered in beautiful art or traditional designs and serve a decorative purpose as well. Some of these artistic fusuma even qualify as national treasures.
	●　●　●　History of Fusuma　●　●　● 　　Let's take a look at the history of fusuma. The word fusuma (臥す間) literally means "bedroom". During the Heian Period (平安時代：794-1192) aristocrats lived in a style of house called shindenzukuri (寝殿造り), consisting of one large hall without inner walls. At that time, they used various types of partitions to separate the space, such as folding screens called byobu (屏風・びょうぶ), single-leaf screens called kicho(几帳・きちょう), and bamboo blinds called misu (御簾・みす), which were grouped together under the general term shoji (障子・しょうじ), which means "partition". However, in the modern era this term is used to describe paper sliding doors only.
	Fusuma partitions originated as a wooden boards covered in silk. To make the partitions more light-weight, they began using a wooden lattice frame work instead of solid boards. They also began using thick, strong paper imported from China to cover the frame. They called the silk-covered partitions fusuma shoji (襖障子・ふすましょうじ) and the paper ones karakami shoji (唐紙障子:karakami means "chinese paper"). 　　Towards the end of the Heian Period, they started making transparent partitions that would allow light to pass through, called akari shoji (明かり障子, akari means "light"). With time, fusuma shoji were known as fusuma, karakami shoji as karakami, and akari shoji were called simply shoji. However, in the modern age, the most typical sort of paper shoji are referred to as fusuma. 　　During the Heian period, they developed a rail along the floor and ceiling in order to enable the fusuma to be removed at will. During the Kamakura Period (鎌倉時代:1192-1333) an additional parallel rail was added so that the fusuma could act as sliding doors. This style is still used in modern times. During the Kamakura and Muromachi (室町時代: 1333-1568) periods, paper karakami doors spread in popularity amongst high-ranking samurai homes and buddhist temples. Influenced by the zen style, karakami shoji were decorated with beautiful ink paintings. 　　During the Azuchi-Momoyama (安土桃山時代:1568-1600) and Edo (江戸時代:1600-1868) periods, military lords established splendid castles for the purpose of showcasing their wealth and power. In these castles, fusuma were decorated with beautiful brightly colored paintings and gold leaf. We can view some of the artistic fusuma created during this period on display at Nijo-jo castle, Nishihonganji Temple, and other places in Kyoto. 　　However, during these eras most common people could not afford to have silk-covered fusuma in their homes, so they used paper-covered shoji instead. It was only during the Edo period, when the merchant class began to gain wealth and power that common people started to use fusuma in their homes. 　　Japan was opened to the west during the Meiji era (明治時代:1868-1912). The style of fusuma and Japanese homes became influenced by Western styles during this period. Fusuma began being produced by means of wholesale system manufacture, the individual pieces being made separately, which meant it could be sold more cheaply. 　　●　●　●　The Structure of Fusuma　●　●　● 　　Fusuma consists of a wooden lattice framework with special Japanese paper pasted on either side, a laquer border, and metal door-pulls for opening and closing. There is an airspace between the two pieces of paper that acts as insulation to help keep the room cool in summer and warm in winter. Fusuma can also serve to absorb or release moisture from the air, in order to stabilize the room's humidity levels. Recent research indicates that Japanese paper has special properties of absorbing dust, mold, ammonia, etc. And of course, the fusuma can be opened in order to allow air to circulate throughout the home. These things considered, fusuma are very well-suited for the Japanese climate. 　　●　●　●　Modern Day Fusuma　●　●　● 　　In modern times, people want to buy things that are inexpensive and easy to use. Therefore, fusuma have changed to meet the current trends. Fusuma made from corrugated cardboard or polystyrene have been developed for mass production, and are very inexpensive compared to authentic fusuma. Many people will buy pieces of uwabari sticker paper in order to re-cover old fusuma themselves. 　　However, it appears that fusuma are dying out in popularity, due to the advent of air conditioning and westernization of Japanese homes. In order to increase privacy within the home, many people prefer to have individual rooms within their home rather than fusuma which easily transmit light and sound. As a result, there are fewer and fewer fusuma in modern Japanese homes.
	-A. Kanitani
	●　●　●　Kinoko- The Taste of Autumn　●　●　●
	Kinoko (きのこ、茸), or mushrooms, are the most popular autumnal food in Japan. Although kinoko are sold year-round with different varieties available according to the season, many people think that autumn is the best time for kinoko. 　　This may be because matsutake (松茸), the most expensive and delicious of all mushrooms, are available only in autumn. When red and yellow leaves appear, many people dream of enjoying matsutake mushrooms. Due to the extremely high price of matsutake, chances to eat them are few.
	Have you ever tried any Japanese mushrooms? Many kinds of kinoko are used to make the everyday food people eat at cafeterias, restaurants, or in bento lunch boxes. Sometimes you will discover some kinoko mixed in with your food, or you may only notice the flavor. We use these mushrooms in many dishes as an important flavoring agent. 　　Have you ever tried cooking using Japanese mushrooms? There are many types of kinoko sold in the supermarket. Some of the most common varieties are shiitake (椎茸), enokitake (エノキタケ), shimeji (シメジ), nameko (ナメコ), eringi (エリンギ), matsutake (松茸) and so forth. Each mushroom has a unique shape and flavor. New kinds of mushrooms also have been introduced recently. These mushrooms are not picked in the woods, like in the olden days, but grown in a factory. The exception is matsutake, which may explain why this mushroom is so expensive. 　　There are many ways to cook Japanese mushrooms. Many people love kinoko gohan (キノコご飯): rice cooked with several kinds of kinoko. Kinoko gohan made using only matsutake is called matsutake gohan (松茸ご飯). Many people adore matsutake gohan but regular kinoko gohan is cheaper and just as delicious! You can buy a special kinoko gohan mix at the supermarket, or you can make your own by mixing chopped mushrooms and abura age (油揚げ:fried tofu) with dashi (flavoring stock) made from soy sauce and Japanese sake. In either case, the mixture is cooked with rice to produce delicious kinoko gohan. 　　Broiling is another good way to eat fresh mushrooms. Why don't you try broiling a large sized shiitake or matsutake mushroom in a toaster oven or frying pan? Carefully tear the broiled with your fingers and squeeze fresh lemon juice on it for a delicious flavor. Shiitake, enokitake, shimeji, and eringi mushrooms all taste delicious when broiled with butter. Eringi that are cut into rounds and broiled with butter taste a lot like hotate scallops. However, you must be careful not to burn the kinoko when broiling them with butter. Alternately, you could use olive oil or goma abura (sesame oil) when you pan-sautee them. 　　Kinoko are often used in Italian food such as spaghetti and pizza. Kinoko also add a good flavor to vegetable-based soups. Shiitake, enokitake, shimeji and nameko all go well with miso (味噌). In particular, many people love namekojiru soup (なめこ汁) and nameko miso soup (なめこのみそ汁). 　　Kinoko have almost no nutritional value but are high in fiber. At any rate, they have a flavor which suits autumn's seasonal atmosphere. Please enjoy sampling kinoko in this cool and colorful season!
	-R. Hakamada
	●　●　●　Japanese Sweets In Kyoto　●　●　●
	October: Kuri Kinton 　　When summer is gone and autumn has arrived, people find their appetites have returned and tend to eat more than ever. We call this phenomenon shokuyoku no aki (食欲の秋) or "autumn's appetite." During the harvest season, you can taste many kinds of delicious foods in Japan. One of the most famous autumn foods are chestnuts or kuri (栗).
	Chestnuts are grown in all areas of Japan except Okinawa, and those you see in Japan are a bit bigger than Chinese or other foreign varieties. Japanese chestnuts have high starch and sugar content, so they are well suited for making sweets, such as the wagashi kuri kinton (栗きんとん). 　　Kuri-kinton was invited by AKAI Mansuke(赤井万助), the 7th owner of a Japanese sweet shop called Suya (すや) located in Nakatsugawa(中津川) in Gifu prefecture. During the beginning of the Taisho era (大正時代:1912-1926) Akai found some extremely high quality chestnuts in Obuse(小布施) in Nagano Prefecture and used them to create this sweet. The original kuri kinton sweet was made from chestnuts and sugar, with white bean jam inside. 　　However, the modern-day kuri kinton are typically made using only chestnuts and sugar. The chestnuts are first steamed then cut in half and the flesh is scooped out and mashed. The mashed chestnuts are mixed with sugar and boiled. Finally, small portions of the mixture are twisted inside a piece of gauze in order to make chestnut-shaped sweets. 　　This traditional Japanese sweet is only sold in autumn when chestnuts are in season. Stores sell these sweets beginning in September, at the average price of 180 yen. Let's try one and see how they taste this year!
	-N. Kawaguchi
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