はりぼて

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".

はりぼて or ハリボテ • (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(けい)気(き)をつくってきたが、実(じっ)体(たい)経(けい)済(ざい)は低(てい)調(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(ぼ)手(て)振(ふり) (botefuri): carrying-pole-bearing hawker
• 腹(はら)ぼて (harabote): big belly