Tatami: An Integral Part of Japanese Culture
Japanese tatami are a unique element of Japanese interiors, indispensable for traditional Japanese homes. The floors of the earliest dwellings in Japan were made of clay, level with the surrounding ground. Over time, buildings were raised off the ground to prevent dust and insects from entering, and the floors were covered with wooden boards or bamboo. Sitting and sleeping on such surfaces was uncomfortable, so during the Heian period (9th-12th centuries), small straw cushions were used for seating. These cushions became the predecessors of tatami—mats made of rice straw that, by the 15th century, covered entire room floors. Naturally, tatami were a symbol of wealth and noble heritage, with homes often featuring only one room with tatami flooring.
One could say that this type of flooring defined the domestic culture of the Japanese. Tatami were an integral part of everyday life: people walked on them, sat at low tables, and later laid out futon mattresses to sleep. Because of tatami, Japan did not have the heavy furniture typical of European homes, such as cabinets or tall-legged tables and chairs, and shoes are still removed at the entrance, with people moving around the house barefoot or in socks—both wooden legs and shoes can easily scratch or tear the surface.
What Are Tatami?
Tatami are made from bundles of rice straw, covered with a thin layer of igusa grass. The rice straw filling provides the mats with sufficient firmness while maintaining a pleasant resilience and bounce. The smooth igusa surface is easy to clean, and the grass imparts a characteristic scent that is hard to forget for anyone who has slept in a traditional Japanese inn, or ryokan. The edges of the mats may be simply finished with the igusa covering, but they are more commonly wrapped in fabric strips. In the past, the color or pattern of the fabric could indicate the owner’s social status; dark blue, black, or brown fabrics were usually used, while wealthy merchants and aristocrats ordered tatami with borders made of colored silk or gold weaving.
When tatami first appeared, their size was tailored to fit the room, but over time, standard sizes emerged: the Kyoto tatami, popular in the former capital of Japan, Kyoto, measures 95.5 by 191 cm, and the slightly smaller Edo tatami measures 88 by 176 cm. Nowadays, the size of the room is determined by the number of mats required to cover the floor, and even in modern real estate listings, “tatami” is used as a unit of measurement for area, equivalent to about 1.6 square meters.
The color of tatami depends on the material: brand new tatami are green or greenish-brown but gradually fade in the sun over a few months, acquiring a beautiful golden beige hue. They are remarkably durable—cleaning can be done with a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush or a slightly damp cloth. Additionally, tatami are dried and turned once a year to evenly use both sides. If the surface covering becomes damaged, the mats are sent to a special workshop for reupholstering.



Modern Tatami
Japanese domestic life changed significantly in the second half of the twentieth century. However, even today, in modern apartments, if there are two or more rooms, one of them is almost always a washitsu—a room in traditional Japanese style, featuring sliding shoji partitions, a tokonoma alcove with a calligraphic scroll or an ikebana arrangement, and tatami on the floor.
Manufacturers are constantly seeking materials and solutions that help Japanese tatami remain popular with consumers. For example, tatami are now made from tightly woven rice paper fibers—these mats have no characteristic smell and are hypoallergenic, making them suitable for children’s rooms or for people with allergies. Such tatami, whether in photos or to the touch, are almost indistinguishable from traditional ones but come in a much wider range of colors: blue, pink, or even black tatami with various weavings can be chosen. There are several types of special antibacterial, water-repellent, and dirt-repellent treatments that turn this traditional interior item into a highly practical and modern material. Additionally, special profiles are available to help integrate tatami with wooden or synthetic flooring when mats cover only part of a room.
One Japanese manufacturer has even developed illuminated tatami, which look striking in the dim light of tea ceremony rooms. This innovation can be seen in a scene from the Hollywood adaptation of “Ghost in the Shell.”
How to Buy Japanese Tatami?
Typically, Japanese tatami are not sold ready-made. To purchase them, one visits specialized stores that focus on this interior item. There, the customer selects the filling, exterior covering, and border together with a craftsman, and after a while, the finished mats are delivered and installed. The workshops offer advice on care and cleaning, reupholster the surface covering, or update the fabric of the borders. Like many other traditional manufacturing fields in Japan, many workshops have been operating for decades, passing down tatami-making techniques from generation to generation.
Ideologist collaborates with Motoyama Tatami—a company from Kyoto that has been in the tatami business since 1916. They source the finest natural materials for traditional tatami production and work with modern manufacturers’ materials, creating both standard mats and custom-sized tatami. Their products can be seen in homes and tea rooms in Kyoto and other cities in Japan.