Tatami　畳

Tatami (straw mat)
Traditional Japanese rooms have, as a floor-covering, tatami mats. They are made of straw and rush. Since a tatami mat is always of a designated size (roughly 6 by 3 feet), it also serves as a unit of measurement for the size of a room. Rooms that have 4 .5, 6, or 8 tatami mats are most common.
Most houses now have both Western rooms and traditional tatami rooms. Elder people prefer to sit and relax on the tatami, while youngsters find themselves more comfortable on chairs or sofas. Traditional arts such as the tea ceremony and flower arrangement are almost always practiced on the tatami.