Zabuton

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Traditional Japanese chair with a zabuton and a separate armrest

A zabuton (座布団) is a Japanese cushion for sitting. The kanji characters 座布団 literally translated are "seat-cloth-sphere". The zabuton is the everyday cushion found in homes and used for eating, watching television, reading at the kotatsu, and other daily activities. A typical square zabuton measures 50–70 cm (20–30 inches) on a side and is several centimeters thick when new.

Zabuton are found throughout Japan, and enter many aspects of the culture.

In Zen meditation, practitioners sit on zafu which is typically placed on top of a zabuton. The zabuton cushions the knees and ankle.
In sumo, members of the audience throw zabuton toward the ring after an upset.
In yose, notably on the long-running television show Shōten, comedians receive zabuton as a form of scoring.
In jidaigeki, according to a stereotype, the boss prisoner in a jail cell receives all the zabuton from his or her cell mates.