Do you like Tatami?
Jan 24th, 2008 by Ad Blankestijn
There is nothing more soothing than the fragrance of fresh, new tatami. In my first flat in Kyoto, I had several tatami rooms, and used to stretch out on the floor to inhale the smell…
Unfortunately, since then I have only lived in western-style apartments and houses. My dream is that my next place will have at least one tatami-room…
[Tatami maker in Fushimi, Kyoto]
I was reminded of this again when I walked past this tatami maker’s shop in Fushimi in Kyoto.
By the way, the use of tatami mats as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms dates from the Muromachi period (1333–1568). Before that time, people would sit on isolated mats, without covering the whole floor. The word “tatami” is derived from the verb “tatamu,” meaning “to fold.” This points at the fact that the earliest floor mats were thin and could be folded up when not in use.
Tatami mats are made of a thick base of straw which is covered with a soft surface of woven rush (igusa). The size of the tatami is generally standardized at 190 by 95 centimeters, but regional variations occur. Rooms in traditional houses are measured by the number of tatami they consist of: a 4.5 mat room, a 6 mat room, etc.
Do you like tatami?
I love tatami. They are comfortable to sit on and are not cold like wood or tile floors. I had thought the tatami mats were thin, maybe only 2 cm. thick. Then I saw one lifted up at my in-laws house and realized that the tatami mats are much thicker, maybe 5 to 7 centimeters I believe.
Hello Jon, you are right, they are thick and extremely heavy! I suppose that is how they keep the house warm, with only a wooden floor underneath in traditional houses. I am really looking forward to living in a house with at least one tatami room…