A , meaning "Japanese-style room(s)", and frequently called a "tatami room" in English, is a Japanese room with traditional

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for traini ...

flooring. also usually have sliding doors (), rather than hinged doors between rooms. They may have and, if the particular room is meant to serve as a reception room for guests, it may have a (alcove for decorative items). Traditionally, most rooms in a Japanese dwelling were in style. However, many modern Japanese houses have only one , which is sometimes used for entertaining guests, and most other rooms are Western-style. Many new construction Japanese apartments have no at all, instead using

linoleum Linoleum, sometimes shortened to lino, is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), pine resin, ground cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canva ...

or hardwood floors. The size of a is measured by the number of tatami mats, using the counter word (), which, depending on the area, are between 1.5 m² and 1.8 m². (See

.) Typical room sizes are six or eight tatami mats in a private home. There are also half-sized mats, as in a 4.5-tatami room. People sit directly on the , on (a kind of cushion), or on special low chairs set on the tatami. For sleeping, a

futon A is a traditional Japanese style of bedding. A complete futon set consists of a and a . Both elements of a futon bedding set are pliable enough to be folded and stored away in a large during the day. This allows a room to serve as a bedr ...

is laid out in the evening and folded away in the morning. Other furniture in a may include a low

table Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

at which a family may eat dinner or entertain guests, and a , a particular type of low table that contains a

heating element A heating element converts electrical energy into heat through the process of Joule heating. Electric current through the element encounters resistance, resulting in heating of the element. Unlike the Peltier effect, this process is indepen ...

used in the wintertime, may also be provided. The kotatsu may be particularly important in winter as most Japanese homes do not have

central heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

. The antonym is (), meaning "Western-style room(s)". Another term for is (), and the corresponding term for is ().Japanese Kōjien dictionary, entries for "washitsu" and "yōshitsu"

References

{{Japanese architectural elements Japanese architectural features Japanese home Rooms

See also

References