The tatami room, better known as 和室 (washitsu, “Japanese-style room”), is a space that features tatami mats as its main flooring element. Tatami mats are made from woven straw with a rice straw core ...

For three generations, the Morita family has been wrapping, stitching and trimming modular blocks of woven grass, known as tatami, in Tokyo's old downtown. But now, beset by cheap knockoffs and ...

In the U.S., sleeping on the floor is usually a last resort, but in Japan, it's a centuries-old tradition that has now made ...

A fifth-generation tatami craftsman near Nagoya, Japan is bucking tradition. Tatami, or a woven straw grass mat, is a symbol of Japan’s storied past. Usually laid down in square or rectangle patterns ...

Zulkarnain Bin Hasan Basri prays on an "inori" tatami prayer mat in Osaka's Sumiyoshi Ward on Oct. 30, 2023. (Mainichi/Aya Kimura) OSAKA -- A Kyoto-based tatami mat trading company has launched a ...