| During
the Muromachi period residential architecture
flourished and the Shoin-Zukuri style of architecture
was born. Shoin-Zukuri means 'made for regular
people'. Shoin-Zukuri style was the residential
architecture designed for the growing middle
class and expanded the use of tatami as the
entire floor covering, replacing the wooden
planks; the tatami became a residential floor
covering. Also made popular during this period
were Ikebana (flower arrangement) and the
tea ceremony.
Tatami
became the unit of measure in Japanese architecture.
For example, a doorway equals the height
of two mats and is one mat wide. Some believe
the sleeping area of a person determined
the size of a tatami mat. Tatami vary in
sizes, and not only come in one size. The
different sizes vary according to different
regions in Japan. Population and spatial
(or lack off) are considerations which determine
the various sizes. Nagoya tatami are 6ft
by 3ft, and Tokyo is 5.8ft by 2.9 ft, In
Kyoto, Kyoma matsare roughly 6ft. by 3ft.,
while in the East Edoma (5ft. x 8ft.) were
more popular. There are also half size tatami
mats called hanjo, and ¾ size mats
used in the tea ceremony called daime-datami.
The
word tatami comes from the verb tatamu,
which means to fold up or pile up. High-ranking
officials dictated different levels
be developed to show rank, and this
was done through tatami mats. Piling
the tatami up higher indicated the ranking
of court individuals; thickness, size,
and the colour and design of the cloth
edges were also an indication of rank
of the individual household that owned
it.
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The
traditional Japanese home is based on Ma (A
Japanese aesthetic principle reflecting Buddhist
spatial ideas): the balance between open or
empty spaces and objects characterised by
simple lines and angular forms. This unique
style of Japanese interior and architecture
emerged as a response to its natural environment,
its weather, its geography and its harmony
with all those elements.
This
traditional Japanese style became the defining
influence on modern minimalism. Frank Lloyd
Wright was heavily influenced by Japanese
spatial arrangements and the concepts of
balancing interior and exterior spaces,
as did the Japanese by opening up walls
made of sliding doors long before this.
After the 2nd world war major architects
such as Maekawa kunio (student of world-famous
architect Charles LeCorbusier) and Tange
Kenzo, were both renown for combining Japanese
aesthetic concepts into their modern buildings,
returning to the spatial concepts and modular
proportions of the tatami, using textures
to liven up their buildings, and integrated
gardens and sculptures into their designs.
The
Suki ya style came from the tea ceremony,
the word suki ya refers to the building
in which the tea ceremony is performed.
Suki ya style combined smaller, simpler
setting with the features of a more
delicate, natural and unornamented style.
Suki ya-Zukuri evolved from Momoyama
period (1568-1615) and
the Shoin style, which became the popular
style for the residences in the mid
to late Edo period (1750-1867).
It is this style that has represented
and defined the traditional Japanese
interior.
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The
cloth borders on tatami are called herinumo,
some borders have fancy designs woven into
them but the borders of tatami for the tea
ceremony tend to be very simple, either
in black or in single muted colours. Tatami
can be placed into a number of different
layouts. It is believed that certain layouts
can bring good or bad fortune, for example,
that the mats shouldn’t be laid in
a grid pattern, for this layout is only
used during mourning otherwise it is bad
luck. Many shops are designed to be the
size of “five and half tatami mats,”
as this will bring good fortune to your
business.
In
the mid-nineteenth century, Japan entered
a great period of exchange with the West,
and residential housing began changing and
incorporated materials introduced by the
West into their architecture such as aluminium
and concrete instead of the traditional
use of wood.
| Although
Western architecture has greatly influenced
the Japanese home, certain basic design
elements still remain till this day,
such as the gekan entrance area where
visitors take their shoes off. Removal
of the shoes before entering a house
is customary. You should always take
off your slippers and only set foot
on tatami in socks or barefoot in order
to protect them from damage. |
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A
lot of Japanese homes consist of both one
or two traditional Japanese style rooms
called wa-shitsu with tatami floors, and
a tokonoma which is an alcove used to display
paintings/scrolls (kakejiku) and flower
arrangements (ikebana). The room entrances
are sliding doors (fusuma) and sliding paper
screens (shoji), which are used for special
get-togethers, or a guest room, the modern
rooms in a Japanese home usually have wooden
floors.
Tatami comes as a beautiful green colour,
which eventually changes to a yellow straw
colour when exposed to sunlight. There are
three different parts to a tatami mat: the
rush cover (omote), the straw core (goto)
and the decorative fabric edging (beri).
By
Anna
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