hanging scroll

A hanging scroll, called by the generic terms 立軸 (lìzhóu) in China and 掛軸/掛け軸 (kakejiku) in Japan, is an illustration or piece of calligraphy affixed to a scroll of cloth or paper.

When hanging scrolls first took their modern form during the Northern Song Dynasty of China, they were strongly characterized as portable murals to be used in religious ceremonies, but later came to be appreciated as art objects.

In the Japanese Way of Tea, these scrolls are called 掛物 (kakemono), and are emphasized as an indispensable piece of equipment for the tea ceremony. Japanese kakejiku are typically displayed in a special alcove for art objects called the tokonoma.