Tatami is a type of flooring material used in traditional Japanese rooms. It is made of woven soft rush straw. The verb form of tatami is ‘tatamu’, which means ‘to fold’, and ancient tatami was so thin that you could actually fold. Nowadays, those thin tatamis are called Goza and still common among Japanese families. In the 8-10th century, tatami changed its form to a flooring material and became much thicker.


In this article, I would like to introduce my tatami bench I have in my aquascape gallery and provide the idea of the combination of modern interior and ancient oriental furniture.

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The size of this bench is 201cm long, 100cm wide, and 40cm tall and…. yes, this isn’t really a bench to be precise. It is meant to be a bed with a sleeping mat on top. This is a great product to add Japanese flavour to your room; you can either use it as a bed or a bench. Placing a beanbag on top will also make your room cosy in the extreme.

The texture is so nice that it feels like I am sitting on grass but without nagging dirt. Well it is much harder than grass, but softer than wooden benches. I know the expression is vague, but it is really difficult to tell how cool it is. If you are interested, touch and feel it yourself!

It is not easy to fill your floor with tatami, and that’s why I recommend this bed. It can add the oriental flavour to any kind of room. For example, most of the furniture I have in my gallery are made of wood. I have 4 aquarium tanks and a Wabikusa. Just like the photo above, the tatami matches perfectly. Aquarium tanks are very modern interior decorations, but what’s remarkable about tatami is that it doesn’t reduce the attractiveness of the aquascapes.

Also, tatami helps you to relax and focus on your work. You can lie down whenever you are tired. It also has a slight scent of straw, which helps you to kick back.

I am quite sure that having both aquascapes and tatami interiors will make your life at home relaxable and enjoyable!