ハリボテ

ハリボテ

Japanese

Alternative forms

• 張ぼて
• 張りぼて
• はりぼて

Etymology

張り (hari, “stretching”) + ぼて (bote, “bamboo basket”)

Noun

The interior of a shopping mall with fake classical architectural facade and fake sky wallpaper to create an illusion of European outdoor scene which can be defined as "ハリボテ".

ハリボテ (rōmaji haribote)

1. An artistic prop or decorative figurine by exquisitely gluing (はる, "to glue") artisan or scrap papers over a bamboo skeleton (ぼて).
2. A fake facade for either

   a. concealing the entire side of a structure like building;

   b. pretending a building with minimum structural support behind or within it.

   ようこそ！ハリボテの城 (しろ)へ！

   Yōkoso! Haribote no shiro e!

   Welcome to the fake castle!

3. (figuratively) any attempt to fake something, often for sugarcoating a problem.

   張 (は)りぼての景気 (けいき)をつくってきたが、実体経済 (じったいけいざい)は低調 (ていちょう)のままだ。

   Haribote no keiki o tsukuttekita ga, jittaikeizai wa teichō no mama da.

   Although a false sense of booming was created, the real economy is still sluggish.

Related terms

• 書 (か)き割 (わ)り (kakiwari): scenic backdrop
• Potemkin village: false construct for whitewashing

Usage notes

This term can be abbreviated as "ぼて" (bote), but there are two more terms share the same abbreviation:

• 棒手振 (ぼてふり) (botefuri): carrying-pole-bearing hawker
• 腹 (はら)ぼて (harabote): big belly