Tatami

Suggestion for conversion: Japanese tatami (standard floor measurment)
Perhaps there isn't a HUGE demand for this coversion, however with Japanese/Asian decor making bigger and bigger inroads into Western consciousness there may be more interest than, let's say, Biblical measurments.

Suggestion for conversion: Japanese tatami (standard floor measurment)
Perhaps there isn't a HUGE demand for this coversion, however with Japanese/Asian decor making bigger and bigger inroads into Western consciousness there may be more interest than, let's say, Biblical measurments.

If I remember correctly, the unit for Japanese floor measurement is the "jo." A standard sized room, roku-jo (six mat), is the size of six tatami mats. So, one jo corrisponds to the size of a tatami mat which is approximately 180 - 190 centimeters long by 85 - 95 centimeters wide.

There are also differences in the actual tatami mat size between apaato (small apartments), mansions (condominiums), and houses. Also, note that tatami seems to be shrinking -- older places have larger 6-mat rooms than newer ones.

In short, the jo, and by extension the tatami, is a non-standardized standard with no valid correlation.

Knight, you are 100% correct, however it is still a used measurement... while I was apartment hunting here in Tokyo I had to figure out if an X-Jo room was small medium large etc... The point being, even though the Jo is somewhat vague and non-standard it is still used, what if the Jo conversion had a Max, Min, and Avg conversion with the simple disclaimer...

one jo corrisponds to the size of a tatami mat which is approximately 180 - 190 centimeters long by 85 - 95 centimeters wide.