{"id":15247,"date":"2023-01-18T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/?p=15247"},"modified":"2025-06-30T16:35:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T07:35:42","slug":"a-guide-to-tatami-rooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/interior-design\/a-guide-to-tatami-rooms\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide To Tatami Rooms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The word \u201ctatami\u201d is derived from the Japanese verb, tatamu<\/em>, meaning \u201cto fold\u201d or \u201cto pile\u201d. This brings about the implication that early tatami mats and squares were thin and could be folded up when not in use or piled up in storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically, tatami was a luxury item only afforded to those of noble rank. The manufacturing and use of tatami date all the way back to the Jomon Period of 13,000BCE to 300 BC in the form of mushiro, a mat woven from materials composed of straw, sedge, and bamboo fibers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The tatami in use today has its roots in the Nara Period of 710AD to 794AD and the Heian Period of 794AD to 1185AD where this particular material for flooring was used in sitting and sleeping quarters of a house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flooring of traditional Japanese homes did not become fully covered in tatami until the mid-Kamakura Period of 1250AD and again, such a luxury was only limited to the wealthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commoners could only start affording tatami flooring in the mid-Edo Period of 1681AD to 1780AD after a boom in the production of igusa<\/em>, known as soft rush grass in English during the Azuchi-Momoyama Period of 15673AD to 1603AD. Igusa<\/em> was the main material for making the surface of tatami mats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Material<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Igusa<\/em> or rush grass was the chosen material for the production of tatami due to its ability to maintain its firmness when woven around a rice straw core. In Japan, igusa<\/em> is also known as toshinso<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This natural material was used due to its abundant growth all throughout Japan \u2013 igusa<\/em> can be found from the island of Hokkaido in the north to the islands of Okinawa in the south where they grow in, next to, or near bodies of water such as lakes, marshes, swamps, and rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Igsusa<\/em> used for the manufacturing of tatami are usually harvested from rice paddy fields in July and this has contributed to why tatami gives off a grassy scent and is tinged green when newly made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usage<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While tatami has traditionally been the go-to flooring material for many a Japanese home, it\u2019s seen a decline in recent years due to it being difficult and finicky to clean and it being costly to maintain and replace. That being said, it is still common practice for many homes in Japan to have one room with a tatami mat floor and such rooms have come to be known as washitsu<\/em> or Japanese tatami rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Tatami<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Size<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tatami mats have had such a prevalent presence in homes across Japan that the Japanese real estate industry has taken to using Japanese mat sizes as the standard of unit when measuring the size of a room, apartment, or house. The unit of measurement, known as jo<\/em> can be found on housing and apartment rental listings \u2013 for example, Village House rental properties<\/a> can start from 10jo<\/em> or 10 tatami mats in size, which is the average size of a 1K apartment in Japanese cities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatami mat sizes are not universal throughout Japan as they vary by region:<\/p>\n\n\n\n