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中文(繁體)Manners for tatami mats: don't enter a tatami-mat room with your shoes on.
DATE:2017/02/17
Tatam-mat is the one of the Japanese tradition which is normally seen when people visit izakaya and Japanese restaurants.
Tatami-mat is always on the floor of Japanese house. The tatami-mat is made of the core of woods and rushes. Craft-man wraps the wood base with matting dried rushes.
Tatami-mat is Japanese culture and unique product around the world.
So we introduce about the manners for unique tatami-mat to tourists.
An uncommon manner is the edge of tatami-mat.
It is that you cannot step and walk on the edge of the tatami mats on the edge of the tatami-mat. It isn't only because that the slight bump on the edge can make a tripping hazard.
At the edge of the old tatami-mat, there used to be patterns of family crests. It's not common now to have family crests on the edge of tatami-mat but the manner came from the common sense that it is rude for ancestors to step on their symbol such as family crests.
It is also global standard that to walk on someone's worth is the worst behavior.
Please be careful when you are on tatami-mat.
Don't step on the edge of the mat, original reason was "taking the crest was drawn on the edge of the mat deemed disrespectful to the House who your ancestors ' so is.
Japan word "trample" but that says something in the foot stomp that is rude, it becomes a family crest and even more so it is. So please take care when being moved on the mat, not around the edges of the mat.
As another manner, you cannot enter tatami-mat room with shoes.
It is also rude for the owner of the house to walk on a tatami-mat which is so delicate that you can easily spoil tatami-mat. You are not allowed to step on tatami-mat by shoes.
It is better not to run around on and rage on tatami-mat.
Please follow the manners on tatami-mat and respect Japanese culture when you are relaxing on it.
