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Japanese Area Rugs
Historically, Japanese rural homes had 3 classes of floor textiles. These different use textiles were all created in the same manner and often might be used interchangeably, one for another's purpose.1. Kotatsushiki or a textile that was placed on the floor below a kotatsu winter heating table to provide a cushion where someone sat, usually more or less square in shape.
2. Shikibuton or futon under-quilts, usually long and narrow to fit under a sleeping futon but sometimes they were square.
3. Jutan or floor rugs for ordinary use, usually more or less square in shape.
An Introduction To Japanese Rugs
In the old days, unlike Western societies, the Japanese did not have the custom of possessing Western-like chairs, sofas or tables in their homes. Their tradition was to get together, to eat and to sleep on floors that had small pieces of furniture, or gather in rooms with no furnishings whatsoever.Moreover, Japanese homes in the old days, especially in rural regions, didn't have the luxury of proper wall or ceiling insulation and as a result were quite cold during the winter months. In addition, cold floors in houses were overlaid with hard uncomfortable-for-siting tatami mats, wood flooring, or had simple compacted dirt.
Japanese used area rugs to cover spaces where people might sit or sleep in order to soften the surface and provide limited warmth against the frigid winters. These rugs were typically homemade from recycled fabrics or raw materials that were readily available in the regions where people resided.
For example, sakiori “rag weave” rugs were very common in residences in the northern areas of Japan. They were quickly and easily woven on ever present home-looms and provided the softness and needed extra warmth where required within the house. Although indigo was the most common color, often these domestically made sakiori textile-rugs included very colorful, irregular designs. This was because the home crafts-woman mixed into the weave random varieties of old brightly dyed cotton or hemp fabrics that had been specifically set aside for making sakiori.
Another ordinary rug making method was to fabricate rugs from old, otherwise unusable, large cotton and hemp textile scraps. The homemaker layered these fabrics on top of each other, patchwork assembled them, and held them together and in place with quantities of sashiko stitching. These jutan rugs often had 4~8 fabric layers. The resulting textile formed a thick, supple and heavy floor cloth. The Japanese wife, well practiced in mending and patching family boro work garments, easily adapted her clothing repair techniques into making homemade rugs.
Today, these fascinating historical rug-textiles are cherished and enjoyed in modern homes as area rugs, sofa/chair throws or as folk art decorative pieces on walls.
