October 22, 2007

Hello Online Japanese Language Students,

This week we had the tatami mats changed in our house. The missus had been onto me for a while about getting them "changed" and, to tell the truth, I didn't have a clue what she was talking about. The word tatami (畳) comes from tatamu (畳む), which means to fold. The original mats must have been a kind of foldaway instant floor, but modern tatami mats are usually single mats made of woven straw and traditionally packed with rice straw. A typical mat measures 90 cm by 180 cm (about 3' by 6') laid out in an interlocking pattern across the room. In fact, room sizes are specified as so many tatami mats—instead of saying 13 square meters or 140 square feet, for example, Japanese will say 8 tatami mats, or 八畳 (hachi-joo).

Many homes in Japan have tatami floors, although not usually in all the rooms. Some modern families choose not to have a tatami room added to their apartments and condominiums, since the mats require more upkeep than wooden floors (after all, you can't wash your tatami mats). Slippers are not worn on tatami mats—strictly bare or (ideally) stocking feet.

The surface of a tatami, tatami-omote （畳表）, is the thin outer covering made of a soft rush material that is sewn onto the mat's thick rice straw base. When it wears out, the cover needs to be replaced with new tatami-omote.

This process is called omote-gae （表替え), and costs 4,000 to 15,000 yen per mat depending on the quality of the tatami-omote material. In terms of cost, I suppose it's like having hardwood floors refinished, but in terms of disruption to the household, it's much easier. A work crew showed up at my house, picked up our floor, and walked out with it. Later that day, they brought the floor back with newly embroidered tatami-omote. I never imagined it would be so simple!

In traditional Japanese society, tatami came to be associated with privilege, as exalted members of society sat upon them while others sat on the wooden floor. But by the 17th century most families in Japan had tatami in their homes. Today, tatami mats are still associated with Japanese religious rites and the Japanese tea ceremony (sadoo, 茶道).

You will also find tatami in martial arts dojos (doojoo, 道場, literally a place to study the way). Before stepping onto the tatami mat, it is customary to bow, which symbolizes an entrance and separation from the outside world into the world of doo (道).

Many modern homes have a special Japanese room called a wa-shitsu （和室), which always has tatami mats for entertaining special guests or safekeeping the family's ancestral altar (butsudan, 仏壇). Shoes are a symbol of life led outside the home, so it is customary to remove them in the entry way (genkan, 玄関), and step in (and up) to the private, personal world of the home.

Tatami are a much loved part of traditional Japan, but I like them in our house for a more practical reason: When the kids were rug rats, they could slip and fall from bouncing on the sofa and I didn't have to worry about fractured skulls or broken bones! I think many judo and other martial arts practitioners have the same feeling when they hit the floor, "Oof! Thank goodness that was tatami!"

Tensaku, By Popular Demand

Our new tensaku, or essay/composition correction, service has just gotten underway. Over the past many months, several students have asked whether there was a way to practice composition in Japanese. Tensaku is exactly that. Our teachers publish tensaku topics on a variety of subjects and at all Japanese language levels from beginner to advanced. You choose a topic, write your composition (up to 400 Japanese characters), and submit it for correction and review. After the teacher has reviewed your submission, you receive a document with professional advice for changes and corrections. We see tensaku as the fourth pillar for learning Japanese online: speak, listen, read, and—with tensaku—write. I hope you can take advantage of the newest service from our online Japanese school.

Support Tips

	Are you hearing echoes in the classroom? Because the new classrooms let you and your teacher talk at the same time, you may hear echoes (or cause echoes) if your microphone isn't adjusted properly. We have several new FAQs to deal with the topic: If you hear echoes or noise when you talk, please read this FAQ. If you hear echoes or noise when someone else talks, please read this FAQ. If someone else hears echoes when you talk, please read this FAQ.
	Is your voice cutting in and out in the classroom? Your Internet connection may be a little slow—try this FAQ for ways to improve your voice quality.
	Are the voices of other users breaking up in the classroom? Again, it might be your Internet connection. One great way to solve this problem is to turn off your video reception, as described in this FAQ.
	Don't forget about the weekly lesson blog! It's a free way to learn about Japanese culture and learn a few words and phrases along the way.

Thanks, everyone, for helping make JOI a great online Japanese school! I hope you're having fun learning Japanese online.

If you have other questions, be sure to check out the FAQs, or if you don't find an answer there, write me at support@japonin.com.

Regards,
 
Moses
JOI Support