Formality of Tatami craftsman that still lives
Currently, in Japan, there is less and less houses with Tatami.
So the number of farm producing Tatami material, Tatami craftsmen and Tatami shops are reducing.
However, Tatami craftsmen of today are holding very high-level technique
and formality while facing Tatami as their work.
Traditional Tatami consists of
“Tatami-doko”
made of rice straw covered with
“Tatami-omote”
woven from Igusa and with stitched
“Fuchi” in cloth.
All these 3 parts gathers to become 1 Tatami.
In that process, there are craftsman who sew Tatami-doko with their hand with large Tatami needle.
Details are controlled by the feeling of hand so hand-sewn Tatami lasts longer than machine-sewn Tatami.
Also, there is
“machine skimmed Japanese paper Tatami”
which is stronger than Tatami with Igusa.
Formality of Japanese Tatami craftsmanship not only appears in sewing but also in introducing new material.
Many efforts are made in order for Tatami to be used comfortably in daily life.
