Cleanliness of Japanese comes from Tatami?
It’s often said that the first thing foreigners visiting Japan are surprised at is
how “clean” Japan is in everywhere.
“There is no garbage on the road in Japan”,
“bathroom is always clean”,
“everyone takes their garbage home”
etc….
Recently, there is a consideration saying that the this Japanese
“Cleanliness”
has something to do with Tatami culture.
Japanese traditional houses were Tatami in its inside so people made it a habit
to take off their shoes when they get inside the house.
So dirt or sand from outside won’t normally get inside the house.
Also, Tatami shows dirt clearly and it can get fungus or mites if we don’t do maintenance.
So Japanese people made it a habit to take a long time to clean Tatami in their daily lives.
First, remove dust with bloom then wipe with humid towel.
Sometimes, they take Tatami outside to have Sun bathing and to put off dust.
For foreigners, Tatami seems to be very clean and also it requires quite a maintenance to keep it that way.
Recently, there are Tatami with new material that fits modern lifestyle.
It uses Japanese paper as its material instead of Igusa.
It’s much more resistant to fungus and mites.
The surface is resin coated so it’s easy to maintain.
Even if you spill food or drink, you can just wipe.
You can also clean with vacuum.
If you think
“Tatami is hard to maintain”, please try resin coated Japanese paper Tatami.
