A room that changes through the day
In a traditional Japanese room, the furniture arrives and leaves with the hours. A low table appears for a meal, cushions are set out for guests, and at night bedding is unfolded onto the floor. In the morning it is folded and put away, leaving the room open again. This pattern is what people usually mean by floor living, and it explains much about how small homes were made to work.
The key piece is the futon. In Japan, the word refers to a set of bedding rather than a bed frame: a thin, firm mattress laid on the floor, a quilt or comforter on top, and often a small pillow. Western-style versions sold abroad are thicker and may sit on a platform, so the Japanese original is quite different.
What a futon set includes
A traditional set often contains:
- Shikibuton, the mattress that lies on the floor, traditionally filled with cotton.
- Kakebuton, the covering quilt, whose weight and filling are changed with the season.
- Makura, the pillow, which in the past was sometimes filled with buckwheat hulls or similar materials.
Because the mattress rests directly on the floor, it needs regular care. Households typically air bedding in the sun on a balcony or veranda, and it is folded away into a closet during the day so that moisture does not build up. The closet used for this, called an oshiire, has sliding doors and shelves sized to hold folded bedding. Floors covered with tatami mats are comfortable to sleep on partly because the woven material is slightly springy and breathes, though a person’s comfort and back support are individual matters.
Sitting low
Daytime life is lived at a low level too. People often sit on thin square cushions called zabuton, set around a low table. The table, a chabudai, is used for meals and tea and can be folded away or moved when the room is needed for something else. Traditional dining at such a table follows the structure of the traditional meal, with small dishes placed in front of each person.
Posture has its own vocabulary. Seiza, kneeling with the legs folded beneath the body, is the formal way of sitting, used in tea rooms and at ceremonies. Many people find it tiring and use more relaxed positions in daily life, such as sitting cross-legged or with the legs to one side. Some use a legless chair called a zaisu, which supports the back while keeping the sitter low. Older people, and anyone with knee or back trouble, may prefer a chair, and in modern homes this is common. Anyone with a medical concern about posture should ask a qualified professional rather than rely on tradition.
Winter warmth
Living at floor level affects how rooms are heated. A kotatsu is a low table with a heater underneath and a quilt draped over it; people sit with their legs beneath the quilt. It warms only the part of the body near the table, which suited homes that were not heated as a whole. It also pulls the household together, since people gather around it to eat, read or talk. Winter is when this part of floor living is most visible.
How low living shapes the room
When people sit low, the room is designed around that eye level. Windows and sliding screens open down near the floor so a person seated inside can see the garden. The decorative alcove, where a scroll hangs, is placed so it is best viewed from a seated position. The idea of the concept of ma, meaningful empty space, is easy to feel in such rooms, because few objects stand in the open.
Furniture is also generally low and light. Items are kept in built-in closets rather than large freestanding cabinets, and the floor stays clear. This allows the floor to be used for many things at once, from a child’s play to a quiet moment with tea. The practice of removing shoes at the entrance supports the idea that the floor is a clean surface to sit, eat and sleep on. A related custom is seen in the Japanese home as a whole, where the floor is the foundation of the interior.
Mixing old and new
Today, most households in Japan use beds, chairs and sofas at least in part, and many city apartments have a single mat-floored room, or none at all. Some people still use a futon, often because it can be folded away in a small space. Others use a bed for sleeping and keep a low table and cushions for eating.
Floor living is therefore less a fixed system than a set of choices. Its main lesson is about flexibility: one room, many uses, with the objects of daily life stored away when not needed. It is not better or worse than other ways of living, only a different answer to the same needs of rest, meals and company.