A zabuton is a Japanese cushion

Cushion

A cushion is a soft bag of some ornamental material, stuffed with wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber, non-woven material, or even paper torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon, or to soften the hardness or angularity of a chair or couch...

 for sitting. The zabuton is generally used when sitting on the floor, and may also be used when sitting on a chair. Ordinarily any place in Japan where seating is on the floor will be provided with zabuton, for sitting comfort. A typical square zabuton measures 50–70 cm (20–30 inches) on a side and is several centimetres thick when new.

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

• In Zen
  Zen
  Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
  
   meditation, practitioners sit on zafu
  Zafu
  A zafu is a round cushion. Although also a utilitarian accessory, it is most well known for its use in zazen Zen meditation.-Name:...
  
   which is typically placed on top of a zabuton. The zabuton cushions the knees and ankle.
• In sumo
  Sumo
  is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
  
  , members of the audience throw zabuton toward the ring after an upset.
• In rakugo
  Rakugo
  is a Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on the stage, called the . Using only a paper fan and a small cloth as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical story...
  
  , performers are not allowed to rise from their zabuton for the duration of their skit.
• In yose, notably on the long-running television show Shōten
  Shoten
  Shōten is a Japanese TV comedy program, continuously broadcast on Sunday evenings on Nippon TV since 15 May 1966, the second-longest running TV show in Japan....
  
  , comedians receive zabuton as a form of scoring.
• In jidaigeki
  Jidaigeki
  is a genre of film, television, and theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and is usually the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—Portrait of Hell, for example, is set during the late Heian period—and the early Meiji era is also a popular...
  
  , according to a stereotype, the boss prisoner in a jail cell receives all the zabuton from his or her cell mates.