28 AMAM.OBERLIN.EDU BUILDING The Edo period saw a rise in the standard of housing for both urban and rural residents. Better, cheaper, andmore resource-efficient methods of building spread throughout Japan, in part through the publication of handbooks for specialist and general readers. When constructing urban residences, whether tenements, townhouses, or mansions for a high-ranking samurai, carpenters used a standardizedmodular system that helped them cut down on waste and complete projects quickly. Japanese builders had great skills at joinery, fitting together carefully carved posts, beams, and roof timbers without the need for nails. This had the added benefit of making these buildings more flexible and able to withstand the frequent earthquakes in the region. Building required the skills of many specialists: carpenters, stone cutters, mat makers, plasterers, sliding screen makers, and roofers. After TosaMitsuoki 土佐光起 (Japanese, 1617–1691) MatMakers, early 20th century Color woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper Gift of SadamotoKawano (OC 1938), 1938.35 One of the most characteristic and recognizable features of Japanese traditional interiors is the use of tatami 畳, mats used as a floor covering. Made with a core of rice straw, covered with tightly woven rush (igusa 藺草), and edged with cloth, tatami are made in a standard size, although the dimensions differ slightly in various parts of Japan. When people in Japan discuss the size of a room, even today people often use the number of tatami as a measurement. Tatami are appealing on many levels. Visually, the cloth border creates regular, geometric patterns on the floor, matched by similar geometry in sliding screens. Sunlight falling on the surface reflects a warmglow to the room. The mats also have a distinctive and pleasing grassy smell. In Edo period buildings, tatamis also worked with the wood frame and earthen walls to help regulate humidity, absorbingmoisture in damp weather and releasing it in dry periods. Finally, when the tatami was worn out, it could be used as fuel or mulch.
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