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tatami@τ
KEY WORD :@architecture / general terms
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A floor covering made of tightly woven grass and straw. A standard tatami is a rectangular mat about 1.82m (ΰ6') long ~ 92cm(ΰ3') wide ~ 5.25cm (ΰ2') thick. However, dimensions vary to some extent according to the geographical location. A tatami mat made from rice straw is very tightly woven. This is covered with tightly woven rush grass that makes a very smooth surface. Each of the long sides are bound with cloth. Black, dark blue or brown cloth is often used in ordinary homes, but in elegant mansions and in some temples the binding is made of a type of damask. It is beautifully woven with gold, silver and other colored silk threads. Tatami are resilient when walked upon. Slippers are never worn on tatami. When bedding, futon, is laid upon the tatami, it provides a very comfortable place to sleep. The bedding is removed in the morning to a special storage place leaving a tatami room free for day time use. In the ancient period, there was no tatami of the type familiar today. Rather, there were simple sleeping mats, cushions and straw mats to sit on. In the Heian period in *shinden-zukuri Q“a‘’ mansions, individual straw mats were common among the nobility. They were stored when not in use. From the Kamakura period, straw mats began to be laid over the entire floor area. During the Muromachi period, tatami mats were set closely together, and gradually became common. They were called shikidatami •~τ in contrast to okidatami ’uτ that meant a single mat like cushion. A person's social status could be easily recognized by the thickness of the mats, the colors and patterns of the bindings of the tatami on which he sat. Tatami made in Kyoto is called kyoumadatami ‹žŠΤτ and tatami used in the country side is called inakadatami “cŽΙτ. The former is 191cm long, 95cm wide and 5cm thick; the latter is about 176cm long, 88cm wide and 5.5cm thick. Long tatami may be 197cm long ~ 7 cm thick.
Tatami
in tea ceremony rooms *chashitsu ’ƒŽΊ, have special names. The host's mat may be called shudatami Žετ, *temaedatami “_‘Oτ or *dougudatami “Ή‹οτ. The tatami located where the host enters is called *fumikomidatami “₯žτ. When the guest is a nobleman, he sits on a tatami mat called *kinindatami ‹Mlτ. The seat for ordinary guests is called *kyakudatami ‹qτ. The tatami located the hearth, is called *rodatami ˜Fτ and the mat for utensils is called dougudatami.
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REFERENCES:
*daimedatami ‘δ–ڏτ, *daimedoko ‘δ–ڏ°, *daimebashira ‘δ–Ϊ’Œ.
EXTERNAL LINKS: 
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NOTES
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