Tatami Mat (2004-11-12)
The Japanese mat, tatami, is used to cover the floor of rooms in many Japanese homes. Tatami may be exotic and soothing to look at, but it has to be one of the most impractical floor coverings in the world. If you spill fluid on it, the liquid seeps into the fiber and onto the actual floor underneath, thus making a thorough cleaning a big headache. Tatami also creates a haven for dust mites. The space within the woven straw is the perfect breeding ground for them as well as flees. Even when one is not allergic to dust mites and keeps no pets in the house, his/her tatami will lose its lustrous green color as time passes, much like paper turning yellow when exposed to the air.
New houses and apartments may have modern and practical floor
coverings such as wooden floor boards or ceramic tiles in the living
room and bedrooms, there's often an entire room dedicated as wasitsu
(Japanese room) covered with tatami mats. So why do Japanese like
tatami so much? Because they have been using it for thousands of
years and it is virtually impossible to change a deep-seated cultural
practice, whether it is practical or not.
We have a tatami room in our apartment but we cover the whole area
with a thin quilt in case our cat uses the mats as a flat scratching
post. More importantly I think a maching-washable quilt is much
easier to keep clean than straw mats.
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