7th July 2021
Tatami was in the past rice matting flooring. Now it is a little different.
The mats are rectangular and about 180 x 90 cm ( a hundred and eighty by ninety centimetres) long and are about 5 cm thick. Sizes are not always the same though and can differ depending on the area. One tatami mat size is called a 帖 (jō) and some people talk about room sizes using the jō system, not in metres.
In the past many houses had more than one tatami room and some houses still do. These rooms are called 和室 (washitsu). Now however many houses only have one tatami room and the other rooms use flooring. The many one room apartments in the big cities are not usually washitsu.
In the past the inside of the tatami was made of compressed rice stalks and the outside was covered with an い草 (igusa) layer. Igusa is a type of reed. Now almost all mats are made with plywood or styrene or just plywood instead of rice stalks in the centre. The coverings are still made of reeds. The long edge of tatami is bound with a decorative piece of cloth and when buying new tatami people can choose from a selection of designs.
New tatami is greenish and smells nice and fresh. Traditional tatami made of rice stalks was good at absorbing heat, moisture and smells, was quite elastic and was not as cold as flooring in the winter. Modern tatami still doesn’t heat up as much as flooring and is warmer than flooring in winter.
As tatami gets older the igusa reeds start to turn brown and it needs replaced about every five years. It is said not to let the sun on to the tatami because it dries out quickly. This can cause problems with mould though.
Most of the igusa reeds come from China these days. Kumamoto Prefecture is the main place in Japan to grow igusa.
Cheap tatami mats cost about 3,000 (three thousand) yen and the more expensive ones cost about 15,000 (fifteen thousand) yen for one jō.
■ How do you clean tatami?
■ Have you seen a carpeted room?
■ We shouldn’t wear slippers on tatami. ~
■ Some restaurant have tatami rooms. ~