Tatami Floor Layout

In classic tearoom, the dimensions of the space, as elaborated by Sho-0, a tea master of the 16th century, are determined by an area covered with 4 1/2 mats, which is a square room of about 2,700mm width.  This size is said to be symbolically linked with the room in which a legendary Buddhist figure welcomed a saint and 84,000 disciples of Buddha as a manifestation that conceptual limitations such as space do not exist for the truly enlightened.  Yet, in the world of material reality, the classic 4 1/2 mat tearoom is dimensioned to accommodate not more than five persons.  The interior features of the tearoom aim at suggesting the atmosphere of a faraway farmhouse with its remoteness, poverty, humbleness, simplicity, and semidarkness, and many motifs have, therefore, been taken directly from the old farmhouses.

Typical Tatami Floor Layout

Since Edo period, the layout of Tatami is classified into two categories: Shugijiki (祝儀敷き) and
Bushugijiki (不祝儀敷き).

The Layout of Shugijiki (祝儀敷き) is used for ceremonial, while the layout of Bushugijiki (祝儀敷き) is used for sad events such as funeral.   Therefore, shugijiki’s layout is used in most if not all residents these days.

Furthermore, in Shugijiki, the standard orientation of the tatami mat at the entrance is in parallel with the orientation of Tokonoma ( 床の間 ) and this orientation is easily recognized by a Letter ‘T’.

In Bushugijiki (不祝儀敷き), at least two mats are placed together in parallel.  Avoiding the corner of each tatami mat at the corner which symbolizes unpleasantness.

 Zoning:

Japanese houses are typically constructed by wood and conifer (針葉樹) is used widely because of its relatively soft in texture.  Cypress (hiroki) ヒノキ(檜) has been the main source of material especially for temples and shrines in the past.  However, Cedar (Sugi) 杉 and Pine (Matsu) 松 are finding their popularity these days.

Majority of  Japanese tea houses and Sukiya use Cedar for construction.  Because of its light in color (白木), no painting is applied to the finishing and it is also important to reveal the characteristic of tea rooms as being simple and in harmony with the nature.

There are two main streams of zoning based on the size of  tatami used and the calculation of span between columns:  Kyoma (京間) and edoma (江戸間).   In Kyoma, the size of tatami is fixed being 6.3 shaku (尺) by 3.15 shaku no matter the number of tatami is used or the size of the floor. Same size for opague sliding doors (襖) and paper sliding doors (障子) .   In the contrary,  Edoma  (江戸間) employs different size of tatami depending on the size of the floor.   For Japanese tea rooms, use of kyoma is the standard.

Cypress (hiroki) ヒノキ: Perhaps Japan’s best-known tree species, Japanese cypress (hinoki) grows in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu. The cypress grown in Kiso (Kiso hinoki) is particularly famous. The timber has a beautiful sheen, and a pleasant aroma. It has been used for building temples and shrines since ancient times.

Cedar (Sugi) 杉: Japanese cedar grows throughout Japan.  Traditionally in the southern part of Hokkaido, but now the majority are grown through artificial regeneration. Growth rings are prominent, and the grain is coarse. It has a broad range of uses including pillars and boards, ceiling boards, polished logs, furniture, barrels, and shipbuilding.

More on Japanese domestic woods