Tatami were originally a luxury item for the wealthy at a time when lower classes had mat-covered dirt floors. Tatami were gradually popularized and finally reached the homes of commoners towards the end of the 17th century.
Making of Tatami・畳, late 1800s
There are various rules concerning the number and layout of tatami mats; an inauspicious layout is said to bring bad fortune. In homes, the mats must not be laid in a grid pattern, and in any layout there is never a point where the corners of three or four mats touch.
In Japan, the size of a room is typically measured by the number of tatami mats (畳). The traditional dimensions of the mats were fixed at 90 cm by 180 cm (1.62 square meters) by 5 cm (35.5 in by 71 in by 2 in). Half mats, 90 cm by 90 cm (35.5 in by 35.5 in) are also made. Shops were traditionally designed to be 5½ mats (8.91m²), and tea rooms and tea houses are frequently 4½ mats (7.29m²). Because the size is fixed, rooms in traditional Japanese construction measure in multiples of 90 cm. Mats from Kyoto (Kyōma tatami) and other parts of western Japan are slightly larger than those from Tokyo and eastern Japan at 95.5 cm by 191 cm (1.82m²; 37.6 in by 75.2 in).
Orange-->Half Mat
Blue--> Full Mat
Use
Tatami mats are associated with Japanese religious rites and the tea ceremony. Most modern Japanese homes still have at least one tatami room, the washitsu.
Washitsu (わしつ・和室) or Japanese-style room, is a traditional Japanese-style room with tatami flooring, and possibly shouji(is a door) and a tokonomais (a small raised alcove in a washitsu). It usually has fusuma(are opaque vertical rectangles which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors.), sliding, rather than hinged, doors.
In the past, all Japanese rooms were washitsu, and Japanese people slept on the floor above the tatami on futons(5cm thick mattress). Nowadays, many Japanese houses have only one washitsu, which is sometimes used for entertaining guests, and most rooms are Western-style. Many new construction Japanese apartments do not have washitsu at all, instead using linoleum or hardwood floors.
The size of a washitsu is measured by the number of tatami mats. Typical sizes are six or eight tatami mats in a private home. There are also half-sized mats, as in a 4.5 tatami room.
The furniture in a washitsu may include a low table at which a family may eat dinner or entertain guests, while sitting on a cushion called a zabuton((座布団) a Japanese cushion for sitting) or a low chair intended for use on tatami. A kotatsu(covered with a futon/heavy blanket) is a particular type of low table that contains a heating element used in the wintertime. It is particularly important as most Japanese homes do not have central heating.
A Traditional Washitsu (和室)..jpg)
A washitsu/和室 with tatami & shouji.
In traditional Japanese architecture, a shouji (障子/しょうじ) is a door, window or room divider consisting of translucent paper over a frame of wood or bamboo. While washi(和紙) is the traditional paper made in Japan, shōji may be made of paper made by modern manufacturing processes; plastic is also in use.
Shoji doors are often designed to slide open, and thus conserve space that would be required by a swinging door. They are used in traditional houses as well as Western-style housing, especially in the washitsu (Japanese-style room). In modern construction, the shoji does not form the exterior surface of the building; it sits inside a sliding glass door or window.
Although the word shoji formerly also applied to the opaque fusuma, the two are now distinct.
Japanese Room with Shouji and Tatami flooring
A tokonoma (床の間) is a small raised alcove in a washitsu, a Japanese style room with a tatami floor, where decorative scrolls are hung. Ikebana (arranged flowers) and/or bonsai are also often displayed there. The tokonoma and its contents are essential elements of traditional Japanese interior decoration. Tokonoma first appeared in the late Muromachi period (14th-16th century).
When seating guests in a Japanese-style room, the correct etiquette is to seat the most important guest with their back facing the tokonoma. This is because of modesty; the host should not be seen to show off the contents of the tokonoma to the guest, and thus it is necessary not to point the guest towards the tokonoma.
Stepping up inside it is strictly forbidden.
The pillar on one side of the tokonoma is usually made of a raw trunk of wood.
American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was influenced by Japanese architecture. He translated the meaning of the tokonoma into its western counterpart: the fireplace. This gesture became more of a ceremonial core in his architecture.
A Japanese Tokonoma with a hanging scroll and Ikebana
Drawing of a tokonoma from Japanese homes and their surroundings by Edward S. Morse.
A futon (布団), futonis a flat, about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) thick mattress with a fabric exterior stuffed with cotton or synthetic batting that makes up a Japanese bed. They are sold in Japan at speciality stores called futon-ya as well as at department stores. They are often sold in sets which include the futon mattress (shikibuton), a comforter (kakebuton) or blanket (moufu), a summer blanket resembling a large towel, and pillow (makura), generally filled with beans, buckwheat chaff or plastic beads.Futons are designed to be placed on tatami flooring, and are traditionally folded away and stored in a closet during the day to allow the tatami to breathe and to allow for flexibility in the use of the room. Futons must be aired in sunlight regularly, especially if not put away during the day. In addition, many Japanese people beat their futons regularly using a special tool, traditionally made from bamboo, resembling a Western carpet beater.
Western futons are based on the Japanese original, with several major differences. They are often placed on a configurable wood or metal frame for dual use as a bed and a chair or couch. Typically, the frame folds in the middle allowing the futon to be used as a couch and flattens to be used as a bed. They are usually filled with foam as well as batting, often in several layers, and they are often much thicker and larger than Japanese futons, resembling a traditional mattress in size. Western-style futons are a cheap alternative to a bed or other furniture, and are often sold in sets that include the mattress and frame. Futons normally feature a removable and replaceable cover, giving them more versatility.
In Japanese, a zabuton (za, sitting + futon) is a cushion for sitting on. Zabuton are often used for sitting on tatami floors.
A Japanese Futon/bed
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.
Traditional Japanese chair with a zabuton and a separate armrest
A kotatsu (炬燵, kotatsu) is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself. Kotatsu are used almost exclusively in Japan, although equivalents can be found in other cultures, notably the Korsi used in Iran.
A modern Japanese Kotatsu
Historically, fusuma were painted, often with scenes from nature such as mountains, forests or animals. Today, many feature plain rice paper, or have industrially printed graphics of fans, autumn leaves, cherry blossoms, trees, or geometric graphics. Patterns for children featuring popular characters can also be purchased.
Both fusuma and shouji (sheer, translucent paper room dividers) run on wooden rails at the top and bottom. The upper rail is called a kamoi (鴨居), literally "duck's place", and the lower is called a shikii (敷居). Traditionally these were waxed, but nowadays they usually have a vinyl lubricating strip to ease movement of the fusuma and shouji.
Along with the fusuma, shouji and tatami straw mats (as the floor) make up a typical Japanese room.
Fusuma in a japanese room
Tatami are also used when training Japanese martial arts, such as judo, for protective purposes.
Tatami "omote", or the outside rush mat layer, wrapped over the rice straw core of the mat, is used in the practice of tameshigiri (target test cutting) in Japanese swordsmanship. The tatami omote mats are rolled into cylinders, soaked in water for several days, and then cut in order to test either a newly made sword's sharpness or a swordsman's skill.
＝－＝終わりました＝－＝
http://very-japan.blogspot.com/2008/09/japan-culture-i.html
Src: from wikipedia
By: ♀Ling~クルミ♀
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