Houses built in Japan today often have very few tatami-floored rooms, if any. Tatami were gradually popularized and reached the homes of commoners toward the end of the 17th century. It is said that prior to the mid-16th century, the ruling nobility and samurai slept on tatami or woven mats called goza ( 茣蓙), while commoners used straw mats or loose straw for bedding. 'spread out for sitting'), and rules concerning seating and etiquette determined the arrangement of the tatami in the rooms. Rooms completely spread with tatami came to be known as zashiki ( 座敷, lit. This architectural style reached its peak of development in the Muromachi period, when tatami gradually came to be spread over whole rooms, beginning with small rooms. In the Kamakura period, there arose the shoin-zukuri architectural style of residence for the samurai and priests who had gained power. During the Heian period, when the shinden-zukuri architectural style of aristocratic residences was consummated, the flooring of shinden-zukuri palatial rooms were mainly wooden, and tatami were only used as seating for the highest aristocrats. The lower classes had mat-covered earth floors. Tatami were originally a luxury item for the nobility. This indicates that the early tatami were thin and could be folded up when not used or piled in layers. The term tatami is derived from the verb tatamu ( 畳む), meaning 'to fold' or 'to pile'.
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