Art: Tatami Mat

Tatami Mat

Included in Daily Life box, Visual Arts box

• Description: Tatami are mats have been in Japanese homes for about 600 years. Each mat is made of a thick base of rush measuring 1.91 meters by o.95 meters. The tatami mat size is often used when discussing the size of a room’s floor space. Tatami was initially a luxury item and was only used in areas where people could sit; however in current times, they are used to cover floors of entire rooms. A tatami floor is cool in the summer and warm in the winter and remains more fresh than carpet during Japan’s humid months.
  For more information, visit: http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/virtual/house/house03.html, http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/housing/

• Links
  • Living in a Japanese House
  • Housing, Food and Clothes
  • Structure of a Japanese House

• Lesson Plans (All are in PDF format)
  • Art of Japan – NCTA Ohio
  • Japanese Housing – Ohio Delegation Group (YJT)
  • Japanese Manners & Lifestyle – NCTA Ohio
  • Traditional Japanese Homes: Past and Present – NCTA Ohio

• Standard Reference
  (If you know of another standard that may link to this item, please add it to the comment box below.)
  • English Language Arts:
    • Grades 1-2: Speaking and Listening Standards – #1, #2, #3, #4, #6
  • Social Studies:
    • Grade K: A Child’s Place in Time – #3
    • Grade 1: Families Now and Long Ago, Near and Far – #6
    • Grade 1: Families Now and Long Ago, Near and Far – #7