Tatami provide a convenient way of estimating the size of an apartment or house in Japan. What is decided at the planning stage is the number of mats per room—41/2, 6, 8, etc.—and the area of each room is subsequently referred to by this number for example, a six-mat room, an eight-mat room, and so on. In real estate advertisements, the scale of an apartment or house is indicated in this way, providing one with a good idea of size and layout. Despite its importance in the Japanese conception of space, however, tatami are not the module for building proportions as is widely misinterpreted, and in fact, there are a number of "standard" sizes, as well as the practice of tailoring tatami to the available floor space.
In addition to tatami there is also available just the soft reed cover which forms the top layer of tatami. Called goza, these can be used in the home to create a tatami-like atmosphere or outside as beach mats.
Ideas
So far we have only looked at tatami as something to sit on. But, originally, tatami placed on top of the floorboards formed a surface which was raised one level above the rest of the floor. A relic of this is seen in the tatami alcove where a small tatami platform, one or two mats high, is constructed in the corner of a room, on which flower arrangements or pottery can be exhibited. In this way tatami can be used either as a Japanese-style floor or as a display platform.
By piling two or three tatami on top of each other, a bench can be created. This novel use of tatami may have been first used during the Edo period (1615-1868). In 1857, on the occasion of his audience with the shogun, the then American consul, Townsend Harris, found himself perplexed as to whether he should or should not take off his shoes, and whether or not he should sit on the floor. In the end, Harris changed into a new pair of shoes at the entrance, and thus became the first and last person ever to enter Edo castle with his shoes on. The shogun, for his part, was seated upon seven tatami piled on top of each other. The height of this, about 16 inches, was roughly the same as that of an ordinary chair.
Decorated goza mat.
How To Install Tatami
Newspapers or plastic sheets are placed between the floorboards and tatami to reduce dampness.
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