These days, it seems like people are ditching beds for sleeping arrangements that suit their needs better. Sometimes this can come down to cultural preference, what their bodies need, or any other personal reason.
What is typically considered a “typical” or “conventional” sleeping arrangement is pretty much the European/American style for sleeping. Think a mattress, on top of some sort of bed frame, with blankets and pillows. However, many cultures use different styles of sleeping arrangements that differ from this image.
Recently, The Strategist shared an article telling the story of a couple, Trinity Mouzon Wofford and Issey Kobori, who have been sleeping on a traditional Japanese tatami mat with their two children. Trinity shared that her and her husband Issey were continuously searching for a firmer mattress, and Issey ultimately suggested a Japanese tatami mat, which he grew up sleeping on. These days, the couple shares two tatami mats with their two young children. (1)
Read on if you are curious about how this family makes their sleeping arrangements work.
How Does This Family Sleep On A Tatami Mat?
According to Trinity, the family had some difficulties setting up their tatami sleeping arrangement at first, not really knowing the best way to structure it for their family. So they started with what they knew. Trinity shared that, “Issey and I had both grown up sleeping in our parents’ beds as young kids, and it made sense to us. So the tatami-mat situation was easy because it lends itself to a more communal sleeping arrangement.” (1)
Initially, what the family did was use their tatami mats with their mattress, the Plank firm mattress from Brooklyn Bedding, on top of the mats. However, Trinity shares that the couple really wanted to get their hands on a real Japanese futon, which are often quite expensive since the pair wanted to order the futon from Japan.
Ultimately, what spurred the couple into action was the fact that they had another baby on the way. Trinity recalls her and Issey wanting a bigger and more flexible set up to accommodate adding another member to their family. Trinity shared with The Strategist that “Just recently, we completed the setup with the futons that you just roll out. Issey got them from a website called Futon Tokyo that has been making futons for the past 100-plus years.” (1)
Trinity also shared the family’s typical sleeping set-up, saying “we have two double-size futons that we push together, and there’s enough space for everyone. When we wake up, we just roll them up and leave them on the side of the tatami mat.” She adds that “It’s a nice little morning ritual, and for the entire daytime, the room is fairly empty; there’s something sort of serene about that.” (1)
The family also has a smaller tatami mat and futon for their older daughter to take naps on during the day as needed.
Since Trinity and Issey just welcomed a new baby, their sleep set up has shifted a bit. Trinity shared that “what has ended up working so far is my husband and [their older daughter] sleep on the futons on the tatami, and [their younger daughter] and I sleep on our Plank mattress, which we haven’t gotten rid of yet, all in the same room.” (1)
Trinity shares that she enjoys being able to sleep with her whole family in one room, noting that while it’ll probably be a while before her youngest daughter is old enough to sleep with the whole family on both of their futon mattresses, she is excited to “all sleep on the futons together.” (1)
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Sources
- Guo, Kitty. How I sleep: The family of four sharing a tatami mat. The Strategist. October 29, 2024. https://nymag.com/strategist/article/how-i-sleep-family-of-four-sharing-tatami-mat.html
