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How did tatami mats influence the furniture used in Japanese houses?
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Japanese architecture
Main building at Hōryū Temple, Ikaruga, Nara prefecture, Japan.
The use of tatami mats as a floor covering profoundly influenced the development of Japanese furniture, primarily by establishing a lifestyle centered on sitting and sleeping directly on the floor. Because the floor serves as the primary surface for daily activities, Japanese architecture did not develop a wide array of specialized, heavy furniture.12
Instead, the few furniture forms that emerged were designed to be easily movable to maintain the flexibility of the interior space. Key characteristics include:2
- Low-profile design: Because the aesthetic and social experience of a room is considered from the eye level of a person seated on a tatami mat, furniture is kept low to the ground.12
- Minimalism and Portability: Items such as small wooden or lacquer tables—often folding—and cloth cushions were used to accommodate the seated lifestyle.2
- Flexible Partitions: The folding screen became an essential piece of furniture, allowing inhabitants to easily reconfigure the room's layout.2
- Integration with Architecture: Rather than relying on bulky furniture, the house itself incorporates features like the tokonoma for display and the shoin for reading, which serve the functions that furniture provides in other cultures.12