washitsu

{{short description|Japanese room with tatami flooring}}

{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Japanese words and phrases}}

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Image:Takagike Kashihara JPN 001.jpg

A {{nihongo|washitsu|和室|}}, meaning "Japanese-style room(s)", and frequently called a "tatami room" in English, is a Japanese room with traditional 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 {{Transliteration|ja|Washitsu}} also usually have sliding doors ({{Transliteration|ja|fusuma}}), rather than hinged doors between rooms. They may have {{Transliteration|ja|shōji}} and, if the particular room is meant to serve as a reception room for guests, it may have a {{Transliteration|ja|tokonoma}} (alcove for decorative items).

Traditionally, most rooms in a Japanese dwelling were in {{Transliteration|ja|washitsu}} style. However, many modern Japanese houses have only one {{Transliteration|ja|washitsu}}, which is sometimes used for entertaining guests, and most other rooms are Western-style. Many new construction Japanese apartments have no {{Transliteration|ja|washitsu}} at all, instead using linoleum or hardwood floors.

The size of a {{Transliteration|ja|washitsu}} is measured by the number of tatami mats, using the counter word {{Transliteration|ja|jō}} ({{lang|ja|畳}}), which, depending on the area, are between 1.5 m² and 1.8 m². (See tatami.) Typical room sizes are six or eight tatami mats in a private home. There are also half-sized mats, as in a 4.5-tatami room.

People sit directly on the {{Transliteration|ja|tatami}}, on {{Transliteration|ja|zabuton}} (a kind of cushion), or on special low chairs set on the tatami. For sleeping, a futon is laid out in the evening and folded away in the morning. Other furniture in a {{Transliteration|ja|washitsu}} may include a low table at which a family may eat dinner or entertain guests, and a {{Transliteration|ja|kotatsu}}, a particular type of low table that contains a heating element used in the wintertime, may also be provided. The kotatsu may be particularly important in winter as most Japanese homes do not have central heating.

The antonym is {{Transliteration|ja|yōshitsu}} ({{lang|ja|洋室}}), meaning "Western-style room(s)". Another term for {{Transliteration|ja|washitsu}} is {{Transliteration|ja|nihonma}} ({{lang|ja|日本間}}), and the corresponding term for {{Transliteration|ja|yōshitsu}} is {{Transliteration|ja|yōma}} ({{lang|ja|洋間}}).Japanese Kōjien dictionary, entries for "washitsu" and "yōshitsu"