curtain separating central room from aisles (palatial-style architecture)
Technical term in traditional Japanese palatial architecture (shinden-zukuri). Refers to a curtain hung between the moya (母屋, core room) and the hisashi (庇, surrounding aisle).
寝殿造では、母屋と庇の間に壁代を垂らして間仕切りとした。
In shinden-zukuri, a kabeshiro curtain was hung between the moya and the hisashi to partition the space.
Compound of 壁 (kabe, 'wall') and 代 (shiro, 'substitute'), literally 'wall substitute', referring to a curtain used in place of a solid wall.