Continuing our last edition discussion on Japanese home, we are now looking at a deeper cells of Japanese home design. To be reminded, Japanese home are modular can be re-arranged as much as you like it to be, rooms are designed to be multifunction and the spaces are to be as connected with the nature as possible.
Some design elements that we have discussed earlier could be a used as a home improvement but what we are going to discuss here might be of easier to make into reality. We will discuss tatami, genkan, the garden and oshiire which are a bigger space consumer in a Japanese style house. Get ready to be refreshed with the originality of what makes the Japanese home, the traditional one, not the one of the apartments..
First, Tatami. According to some experts, environments that echo the tendencies of nature promote more efficient learning, working, and recuperating. In Japan, where nature, spirituality, and mankind have long been intertwined, one of their most basic design building blocks—the tatami mat—typifies this kind of approach. The smell of a newly laid tatami room is an interior equivalent of a freshly cut lawn. Then there’s the feel underfoot: firm enough to walk across, yet buoyant enough to sleep on.
It was during Heian period that tatami became the unit of measure of room size and were used to cover the entire floor. The 3-by-6-foot proportions, based roughly on a prone adult, could be applied to furniture and architecture alike, keeping everything nicely in sync and standardized.
There are three standard sizes of tatami depending on where in Japan you are: Kyoto has the largest at 3.1 by 6.3 feet, Nagoya tatami are 3 by 6 feet, and in Tokyo they are 2.9 by 5.8 feet. Half-size mats, called hanjo, are used to fill the square gap remaining after the rest of the room is laid, while three-quarter size mats, daime-tatami, are generally used in teahouses.
Second, Genkan. Any person entering the house must first remove their shoes, and the dedicated area where this takes place is the genkan. Often recessed into the floor, it is tiled or laid with concrete. Shoes are lined up facing the door, so they can be put on again easily. This space area element are subtle yet useful enough to indicate sections and percept of cleanliness.
Third, Garden. Gardens enjoy high status in Japan, and their design is considered a fine art. A few features are commonly found, including rocks, lanterns, and water, over which a bridge or stepping stones will transport the appreciative stroller. All gardens have a clear point from which they are best viewed.
Fourth, Oshiire. The oshiire is a cupboard intended to store zabuton (sitting cushions), futon, makura (pillows), blankets, and sheets. Roughly one tatami mat in depth, it usually contains shelves. All bedding is put away daily.
In conclusion, the Japanese home style is more evident during the old times, with the advent of the Japanese economy, such a view and concepts of living design has often become a museum like example. Nowadays, though, some of the tradition is still kept intact. Such as the culture of keeping everything neat, putting the bedding in a good place, availability of tatami like-room. Well the Japanese home design might start to extinct but the value that underneath them still can be seen in the society at large.