What are tatami rooms, and why can't I wear slippers on them?
A washitsu (Japanese-style room) has firm woven-rush tatami mats laid in standard sizes, often with a low table and sliding paper doors. You walk on tatami in socks or bare feet—slippers come off at its edge.
Tatami is soft and easily scratched or stained. Because people may sit or lie directly on it, keeping it especially clean is important. That is why both outdoor shoes and slippers are removed.
Why — five layers
Tatami is regarded not simply as flooring but as living space used directly for sitting and lying down. It is therefore kept especially clean and treated carefully to avoid damage and stains.
Tatami is breathable and suits Japan's humid summers. At the same time, hard soles easily damage it, so shoes and slippers are avoided on the mats.
Tatami mats have standardized dimensions, and room size is sometimes expressed by the number of mats, counted in jo. Etiquette such as avoiding the mat borders is also preserved in tea ceremony and other formal settings.
International view
Other countries also have woven plant-fiber flooring, but Japan is distinctive in using the size of a floor mat as a unit for expressing room area. On tatami, people remove not only shoes but slippers as well.
But not always
Many new houses and apartments have no Japanese-style room, and rooms designed to look traditional may use vinyl or thin tatami. Even the etiquette of not stepping on tatami borders is not always strictly observed at home.
What to do
Remove your slippers before stepping onto tatami and walk on it in socks or bare feet. In formal settings such as a tea room, avoid stepping on the borders of the mats.
Sources
- Accounts of washitsu design and tea-ceremony etiquette
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