Tatami in summer, Tatami in winter
Do you know that Japanese Tatami changes its function depending on the season?
It’s not about Japanese general housing.
It’s about
“Tea room”
where we have tea ceremony and welcome guests.
In the tea room we use
“Ro”
to have hot water for tea.
“Ro” is used in winter and “Furo” is used in summer.
“Ro” in winter is set under the floor where Tatami is cut out.
Light the fire on ashes and put pan with water on it to have it boil.
“Furo” in summer is a tool used on Tatami.
Therefore, the way of laying Tatami tea room changes by the season.
In winter, in order to prepare “Ro” immediately,
“Ro datami”
(small Tatami to cover “Ro”).
We take off “Ro datatmi” and prepare “Ro”.
In summer, there is no need to prepare “Ro” under the floor, but there will only be big Tatami and no “Ro datami”.
Tatami might change how it’s laid depending on season and usage.
