Tatami ( Jap. 畳 , literally "folding; what is folded") are mats that cover the floors of houses (traditional type) in Japan . They are woven from reed igus and stuffed with rice straw, although lately synthetic cotton wool is also used for stuffing. The long edges of the tatami are sheathed with fabric.
There are rules governing the number and location of tatami on the floor. The wrong arrangement, as the Japanese are convinced, brings misfortune to the house. Tatami can not be laid out the right grille, there should not be places in which the angles of three or four tatami converge. This arrangement is called a holiday. During a funeral or in monasteries, tatami are placed on the contrary - with a regular grill or so that the corners converge. There is also a practical sense in this rule - tatami stacked in this way do not lose their location, even if you run along them, jump, etc.
Tatami are strictly defined area and shape. In Japan, the area of rooms is traditionally measured in tatami ( Japanese - 畳 -jo:) , which is taken into account when building a house. The area of the tatami is 90 × 180 cm (1.62 m²). The height of the mat is 5 cm. Sometimes there are tatami in half of the traditional area - 90 × 90 cm. Tatami made in Tokyo and the eastern part of Japan, slightly narrower than usual - 85 × 180 cm.
In most modern Japanese homes, even of European type, there is at least one room with tatami.
In Russia and in the West, tatami are used in schools of martial arts as sports mats. Compared to regular mats, tatami are tighter.
See also
- Mat
- Japanese system of measures
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has tatami media