Washitsu

A nihongo|"washitsu"|和室|, or Japanese-style room, is a traditional Japanese-style room with tatami flooring, [ [http://www.tjf.or.jp/deai/contents/teacher/mini_en/html/washitsu.html Washitsu (Japanese-style room) 和室 わしつ] at tjf.or.jp] and possibly shoji and a tokonoma. It usually has fusuma, sliding, rather than hinged, doors.

In the past, all Japanese rooms were "washitsu", and Japanese people slept on the floor above the "tatami" on futons. Nowadays, many Japanese houses have only one "washitsu", which is sometimes used for entertaining guests, and most rooms are Western-style. Many new construction Japanese apartments do not have "washitsu" at all, instead using linoleum or hardwood floors.

The size of a washitsu is measured by the number of tatami mats, using the counter word "jō" (畳). Typical sizes are six or eight tatami mats in a private home. There are also half-sized mats, as in a 4.5 tatami room.

The furniture in a washitsu may include a low table at which a family may eat dinner or entertain guests, while sitting on a cushion called a zabuton or a low chair intended for use on tatami. A kotatsu is a particular type of low table that contains a heating element used in the wintertime. It is particularly important as most Japanese homes do not have central heating.

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