tatami

is a floor covering whose size and form were closely related to the human hands and the skills which went into its manufacture and use. It has a particularly close relation­ship to human dwelling styles and ways of sitting.

Originally it was a floor covering thin enough to be folded, and it had to be of a certain size for folding to take place. Its size and form were closely related to the human hands and the skills which went into its manufacture and use. The tatami mat is the product of an extensive cultural and historical heritage. It has a particularly close relation­ship to human dwelling styles and ways of sitting.

is the standard Japanese floor mat, thick and stiff, but the verb form of this noun is tatamu, meaning to fold.

tatami, n.All

tatami