_Tatami / Mats

A tatami is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese architecture. Tatami mats are traditionally made of a straw core slab with a woven soft rush straw covering. They usually have edging of cloth for decoration and are manufactured in standardized sizes, with aspect ratio of 2:1.

Scale

There are four standardized size tatami, called Danchima, Edoma, Chukyoma,and Kyoma in Japan. Even though tatami is less commonly used in modern housing, it is still widely used as a unit of room size, jo. 6 jo(6 mats) Kyoma is much bigger than 6 jo Danchima, and that’s why it is important to understand the difference between them.

• 1.Danchima

  1700 x 850mm Danchiama sized tatami are the standardized size for public housing projects developed during 1970 and 1980s

• 2.Edoma

  1760 x 880mm Edoma sized tatami are the most commonly used size around Tokyo and beyond.

• 3.Chukyoma

  1820 x 910mm Chukyoma sized tatami are used mainly in around Aichi prefecture.

• 4.Kyoma

  1910 x 955mm Kyoma sized tatami are used in the west of Kyoto prefecture.

Kyoma vs Danchima

A typcial residential size room(6 jo) can be quite different in size depending on which type of tatami is used. 6 jo in Kyoma is whopping 25% bigger than 6 jo in Danchima. In other words, 6 jo in Kyoma is about 7.5 jo in Danchima.

Design & Style

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  Ungen Beri

  It is heighest ranked design designated for rooms, where the emperor, retired emperor, and their wives lived. It is used for tatami in Seiryo-den Hall of Kyoto Imperial Palace.

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  Daimon Korai Beri

  This design is used to be designated for princes and cheif advisors, but nowadays, you can see the design widely adopted in temples and shrines

• 

  Shomon Korai Beri

  This design is used to be designated for high rank officials, but nowadays, you can see the design adopted in temples and shrines

• 

  Muji Beri

  This is the most commonly used edge design, and it is usually made of synthetic fiber for cost and maintenance reasons.

Layout

It is difficult to perfectly align 4 corners, so in general, layout on the left is preferred unless formal design is required.You almost never see 4 corner layout in residential architecture, while it is not uncommon in formal or main rooms of temples and shrines.