The Southern Cross Tatami mats have been a top choice among our more popular products we have. The high-quality training high above the quality standard make sure that any dojo or training facility with different programmes will have no problems using them. The Southern Cross Tatami mats is not just for regular uses in dojos, but it is perfect as flooring for your home! We guarantee that with this choice, all of your standard flooring needs will be to your satisfactory.
Of course, the Tatami mats are praised for their durability and stability-ensuring texture, but one of the more interesting reasons is that the Tatami has enjoyed a cultural status and importance. The ancient Japanese Dojo keepers and masters throughout the ages have hailed the Tatami flooring as a sacred symbol. It is well-known that the Tatami mat has had a cult status throughout the ages.
We will have a look-see into the detailed history of the Tatami mat and examine how the Tatami has gotten its sacred status and importance in Japan’s culture. It has a fascinating and lush history, from the days when the idea for the ancient Japanese flooring was thought of, through the days when the technique for manufacture was improving to this day.
With a long-held tradition and a flawless quality to boot, the Tatami is one of our most demanded flooring products and it is a high-quality material which guarantees absolute satisfaction. Whether its house flooring you want, or you require it for your dojo, the Southern Cross Tatami mat is all you need.
Certainly, the Tatami mat has had its fair share of history, and has been hailed as an essential component in every Japanese home and the greater part of the Japanese architecture, furniture, and ancient Japanese art. Today, in this modern day and era, there’s not much difference either. The Tatami is valued greatly among the masters of ceremony in Japan today.
The whole manufacturing procedure in making of the Tatami mat used eight thousand pieces of rush, a specific type of grass. The sturdy woven grass texture was supposed to be rolled around rice straws, which were used as a core. The grass is called “Igusa”. This rather intricate weaving technique has been evolving since day one, and the Japanese Tatami masters have been thinking up ways to hasten the process and make the material even tighter and more stable. Nothing beats nice and tight, and highly durable like a good trial-and-error hand manufacturing.
The Japanese industrial cities like Fukuoka and Hiroshima are known for their surrounding areas of rich Igusa grass. These cities are well-known in Japan as the leading industrial zones for rush production used for Tatami mats. Vast industrialization and today’s modern technological advances just keep hastening their production and manufacture rates.
Historically speaking, Tatami mats have been used since the mystical 8thcentury, the Nara Period of Japan. The etymology goes with the word “Tatami”. The word Tatami is old so much that the the oldest record of the word’s use is written in one of the oldest history books of Japan, the Kojiki books. With the coming of the Heian period around the 9thcentury, until the 1200s the Tatami mats were getting rather popular, and in the Muromachi period, the Japanese masters were making Tatami mats even thicker and more comfy. Soon enough, Japanese noblemen started using the flooring as an absolute necessity.
It escalated very quickly around the late Muromachi period of the 16thcentury. You could see Tatami mats in every home, not just in the homes of the noblemen. Every floor was covered in Tatami, along with intricate patterns of cut up Tatami mats. Superstition and mysticism started sprouting up along with any cultural anomalies. It was an ill omen if you used odd arrangement patterns for your Tatami, as there was only one or two “proper” ways of setting up your Tatami mat.
The people believed that bad luck will follow the family if they placed their Tatami mats wrong, instead of a very strict and traditional order, as told by the grandmasters and noblemen. The Tatami mats weren’t all equally measured, one of the Tatami mats were half measure, and using very strict arrangement patterns, the Japanese would place the Tatami mats accordingly. “Zashiki” was the name of the Tatami rooms, in which they were used as guest rooms or living rooms. “Zashiki” meant “spread rooms for sitting”.
Around the Muramachi era of majestic Japanese lifestyle and culture, a very distinctive style of art known as Shoin-Zukuri style started to emerge on the popular furniture and architecture fad of Japan. It is regarded as a groundbreaker and a staple in traditional Japanese art, as well as fashion. Paper screens became highly popular with intricate artwork and expensive wooden frames, along with square wooden pillars, and finely arranged Tatami mats.
We should mention the great martial arts masters of Japan, who saw the Tatami texture as something sacred and protected its dignity with rules, regulations, and traditions. They showed absolute respect, and an almost fleeting notion of worship. They follow a very strict code and etiquette towards the usage of the Tatami mat.
The zen masters of Japan never treat the tending and cleaning of the Tatami as a simple chore, yet as a noble act, as a ritual, and a sacred duty. They keep their Tatami mats nice and tidy, and they frown upon bad mannerisms. The great masters of the martial arts, throughout the ages, have showed nothing but absolute respect and almost a feeling of worship to the sacred status of the Tatami.
The Southern Cross Tatami mats are a true staple of Japanese flooring. They are available in 40mm thickness and a density of 230kg/cbm. They measure 1m x 2m on the surface and they have a Tatami texture and finish with an inner compressed sponge and an anti-skid bottom. It should be noted that the Southern Cross Tatami mat does not use genuine Tatami straws but they are made of heavy duty vinyl. The compressed sponge is for comfort and the rubber bottom makes sure that the Tatami mat stays in place.
They can be separately ordered as 1m x 1m also. Our Tatami mats are a perfect choice if you need proper dojo flooring material. They effortlessly withstand high-impact activities and sports. They have the durability of ages, all thanks to the meticulously structured material.
Here at Southern Cross Mats, as one of the top suppliers in vinyl mats and MMA flooring, we work hard to supply your dojos and exercise centres with high-quality wall mats, yoga mats, gymnastics mats, MMA mats, and of course, Tatami mats. We have warehouses and shops in Sydney and Melbourne. Our valued customers can always choose the mats which they need the most. Please consult our sellers or you can contact us to see which mat suits your needs best.
Our Southern Cross Tatami mats are undoubtedly a perfect marriage between the traditional and the modern. The technological advances of today sped up the process and smoothened out the quality of the mats to high ends, it’s fine to the touch and absolutely safe. It goes without mention that our Tatami mats have a very pleasant smell while the smooth surface ensures no skin burns.
Basically, the Southern Cross Tatami mats are the essential flooring material for your dojo or martial art centre. They are known as the fundamental part of the traditional Japanese home, as the home itself is nothing without the comfortable support of the Tatami. They make every home a pleasant abode. Just the same, it goes for any martial arts center or dojo, as the comfort the Southern Cross Tatami mat provides is unmatched.
Despite the decline of Tatami mats around the 20thcentury, the noble Tatami flooring is still a distinctive part of the Japanese identity. It’s well-cemented in popular culture. We value and deeply respect the sacred status of the Tatami mat. It is an object of great importance in Japan’s history. This durable material and high-quality flooring will never fail to impress even the most stern dojo masters. If you are in need for some very durable and quality flooring material for your abode or dojo, look no further!
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