Minimalist Sleep: the Japanese Tatami Mat

Is a bed frame necessary or a space-consuming inconvenience? The Japanese tatami is not a bed in the Western sense. It is a floor mat with a top layer of rushes, which creates a springy surface for sleeping or sitting. A cotton futon mattress is then rolled out on top of the mat to create a surface to sleep on. This creates a very flexible living space. Futons have been gaining popularity in the West as the concept of minimalist living has become fashionable.

Tatami history

In the late nineteenth century American born Edward S. Morse set out to understand the way of life in Japan. This is his view of Japanese living in wealthy households. He saw much merit in the flexible way of layering the floor with tatami mats.

In regard to the bed and its arrangements, the Japanese have reduced this affair to its simplest expression. The whole floor, the whole house indeed, is a bed, and one can fling himself down on the soft mats, in the draught or out of it, upstairs or down, and find a smooth, firm, and level surface upon which to sleep, – no creaking springs, hard bunches or awkward hollows awaiting him, but a bed-surface as wide as the room itself, and comfortable to the last degree.

Edward S. Morse, Japanese Homes and their Surroundings (New York, 1889), p. 198.

In pre-modern Japan the houses of the elite were fitted with tatami mats throughout.  There was no central corridor.  Rooms opened onto each other, separated by paper screen doors.  The most important room was the yashiki (guest room), situated in the south-facing part of the house overlooking an ornamental garden.  This is where the master of the house entertained guests, displayed antiques, kept his study and slept.  The rest of the family slept in the multi-functional family rooms in the darker, northern-facing part of the house.  This also contained the servants’ rooms, kitchen, toilet and bath.

• 

• 

Making a tatami mat

A tatami mat is comprised of three parts: the doko (base), omote (cover) and heri (border). The thickest part is the base, which is made of rice-straw. The top layer is made from igsu (candle rush). Rush has a sponge-like pith under a hard surface, and fine hollow capillaries that both absorb and release moisture. These properties make it ideal as a mat covering, creating a springy surface that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Tatami in the modern Japanese home

During the twentieth century a revolution took place in Japanese family life, which is reflected in the architecture of the Japanese home.  During the 1960’s the LDK (Living Dining Kitchen) layout became the standard plan for the Japanese home.  Based around the ideal of the happy, affectionate nuclear family, the traditional yashiki was replaced in the LDK layout with a Western-style living room containing sofas and coffee tables.  Food was prepared and eaten in a Western-style dining-kitchen area, and the family ate together sitting on chairs at a dining table.

In the LDK plan, instead of multi-functional rooms, a private room was provided for the married couple.  Ideally, the children were also provided with separate bedrooms.

In reality, many Japanese families have not entirely adopted Western-style living.  Most homes contain a tamami room, used for relaxing and napping.  Whether couples sleep together, or separately, in a Western-style bed or a futon on the floor, depends upon personal taste.

The Teahouse

EXPLORE FURTHER

Read:

Inge Daniels, The Japanese House: Material Culture in the Modern Home (2010), with photography by Susan Andrews.

This study of modern Japanese living was the subject of an exhibition at the Geffrye Museum of the home in London.  The collaboration between Inge Daniels and Susan Andrews has produced a fascinating study of the values represented by use of space and architecture in Japan, with beautiful photography.

Available from Amazon.  Also available to readers at the British Library.

Edward S. Morse, Japanese Homes and their Surroundings (New York, 1889)

This nineteenth-century study of Japanese architecture is available as a free ebook provided by the Gutenberg Project.

Visit:

Japan House, London. 

A gallery, restaurant and exhibition area presenting Japanese art, design and technology.  Located on Kensington Hight Street, London.  Discover the history of the Japanese home from their website.