Tatami mats are a rug unique to Japan. Tatami has a long history.

Around the year 710

The oldest tatami in existence is from the Nara period. It was placed on a wooden platform called “Goshonotatami,” and was kept in the Shosoin Repository at Todaiji Temple in Nara. It differed slightly from today’s tatami in that it was made of five or six layers of woven makomoko (straw mats), covered with igusa straw mats, and had a brocade edge. Two of these were placed side by side and used as a bed for sleeping. Tatami mats are also mentioned in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), and we can assume that they were similar to today’s Goza (mats used for sleeping). There were tatami mats from 794 to 1179, but prior to that, they were treated like a Goza mat.

Tatami mats in the Heian period
The year 794

Tatami in this period was seen as a form of power. Tatami was not laid out as it is today, but was placed only where it was necessary. When the aristocrats’ houses were built in the shinden style (a manner of Heian-era palatial architecture), tatami was placed here and there in the house as a substitute for what we now call a zabuton (Japanese cushion) in a board room or as bedding.

Tatami mats in the Kamakura period
From the year 1192

In the Heian period, tatami mats were used as cushions and bedding, but from Kamakura period, they began to be used as a flooring material in the house. As the times changed and buildings were built in the shoin-zukuri style, tatami mats, which had previously been placed only where necessary, began to be laid over the entire room and the entire floor. Tatami craftsmen of this period came to be called “tatami-sashi” (a person who pierces tatami mats).

Tatami mats in the Muromachi period
From the year 1392

As tatami mats were laid throughout the rooms from the Muromachi period onward, the Seiza style of sitting (sitting erect with one’s legs folded under one), which is unique to Japan, began to be practiced. Seiza was also a way of sitting that was born when tatami mats were laid throughout the room. Tatami craftsmen of this period were called “Tatami carpenters.

Tatami mats in the Azuchi-Momoyama period
From the year 1573

The tea ceremony developed from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the Edo period (1603-1867), and the way tatami mats were laid out changed according to the position of the furnace used in tea ceremony. From this period, tatami gradually began to be used in the homes of townspeople.

Tatami mats in the Edo period
From the year 1603

During the Edo period, the official position of “O-Tatami Bugyo” (Tatami magistrate) was created, and it was cherished by samurai families and others, and became especially important to Shoguns (Generals) and feudal lords. Tatami became popular among the townspeople after the middle of the Edo period, and furthermore, in rural areas, it became popular after the start of the Meiji period. Tatami mats were not originally laid out in tenements, but were prepared by the tenants themselves. For this reason, tatami was valued very highly, and wisdom was born to take care of it and use it for a long time. Until then, wild igusa (lamp rush) had been used, but it began to be cultivated in earnest, and by the late Edo period, tatami craftsmen, or tatami-ya, who made their living by making tatami mats, were established as a profession, and tatami mats were used in the homes of common people.

Tatami mats in the Meiji period
From the year 1868

Until the Meiji Restoration, there were restrictions on tatami patterns, but as these were lifted, tatami was widely introduced to the general public after the Restoration. Tatami was used with great care and wisdom, for example, by airing it out to prevent it from getting sore, or by turning it over when the front surface was burnt.

Tatami mats in the Showa period
From the year 1945

With the rapid economic growth, people’s lifestyles became more Westernized, and they shifted from sitting in Japanese-style rooms to sitting on chairs and sofas. Carpets became popular, but Tatami mat was still the basic interior decoration.

Tatami mats in the Modern Age
Around 1990 ~

With the widespread use of wooded flooring, Japanese-style rooms were not preferred due to extra building costs, as shoji screens (paper sliding doors) and other attached items are required when building a house. On the other hand, wooden flooring has disadvantages such as being cold inside the room, sound resonance, and feeling of restlessness, and tatami is once again being reevaluated. Tatami mats that can be simply placed on top of wood flooring and Ryukyu (Okinawa) tatami mats are gradually gaining popularity. With the use of scientific materials and other materials, as well as high functionality, the popularity of tatami is gradually recovering to meet our needs.