13_p_did-you_know_88-89

DID YOU KNOW?
DID YOU KNOW?
The history
behind
your mat
WORDS: ANE NUNES | IMAGES: ISTOCK
Today, rolling or competing, the mat is part of your
Jiu-Jitsu routine. But, did you know that the tatami
were originally a luxury item for the nobility in
ancestral Japan?
The term tatami is derived from the verb tatamu,
meaning to fold or pile. This indicates that the
early tatami were thin and could be folded up
when not used or piled in layers. During the Heain
period, when the shiden-zukuri architectural style
of aristocratic residences was consummated, the
flooring of shinden-zukuri palatial rooms were
mainly wooden, and tatami were only used as
seating for the highest aristocrats. In the Kamakura
period, there arose the shoin-zukuri architectural
style of residence for the samurai and priests who
had gained power. This architectural style reached
its peak of development in the Muromachi period,
when tatami gradually came to be spread over
whole rooms, beginning with small rooms. Rooms
completely spread with tatami came to be known
as zashiki (room spread out for sitting), and rules
concerning seating and etiquette determined the
arrangement of the tatami in the rooms. The lower
classes had mat-covered earth floors.
It is said that prior to the mid-16th century, the
ruling nobility and samurai slept on tatami or woven
mats called goza, while commoners used straw
mats or loose straw for bedding.
Tatami were gradually popularized and finally
reached the homes of commoners toward the end of
the 17th century.
As you know, to this day it is noble attitude to pay
your reverence to the mat, reminding the warriors
and all the knowledge from martial art masters.
88 Jiu-Jitsu World
Number 01 - 2017
89