What is a Kotatsu? Why,
the best part of winter of
course!
We are now in the middle of winter and cold air breezes through the
poorly insulated homes in Japan. Unfortunately, most Japanese homes
do not have central heat and air and rely mostly on space heaters
and the kotatsu to stay warm. It is a common belief (while
traditional) that heating all rooms in the house is considered a
waste
(mottainai 勿体無い), and in
Japanese culture, waste isn’t good. Heating only the rooms that are
used is common practice and with that it is my privilege to present
to you the
Kotatsu 炬燵.
What is this Kotatsu?
A kotatsu is arguably one of the most beloved, coziest invention
Japan has to offer, it is a table covered with a blanket or quilt
with a heater situated inside. The kotatsu is used to stay warm
during cold winter days and doubles as a table. They are usually
situated in the dining room or living room in front of a TV.
Sometimes in larger homes, a kotatsu can be placed inside bedrooms
too.
The purpose of a kotatsu is to snuggle underneath the blanket,
staying warm from the electric heater, eating snacks, doing
homework, watching TV or adults drinking Sake (Japanese alcoholic
drink).
Each kotatsu is designed differently but assembling them together
is fairly straight forward as there are usually only four
pieces.
The Kotatsu Frame:
This is the frame of the table and is very short unlike most
tables. It consists of a frame to host the electric heater and the
top of the table sometimes doesn’t have a top at all, but just a
few wooden beams.
The Heater:
The heater is usually placed inside the kotatsu frame and plugs
directly into the wall. It uses Japan’s standard 110v for electric
heaters and coal for the traditional kotatsu as we will discuss
later.
The Cover:
The cover of the kotatsu can be a blanket (shitagate), quilt or a
heavy blanket called the kotatsu gake火燵掛布.The cover is placed over
the frame but underneath the table top.
The Table Top:
This piece is placed on top of the blanket and is meant to be used
as a table.
The kotatsu was design by traditional clothing customs
(
wafuku 和服) such as the furisode
(
振袖), kimono(
着物), uchikake (
打掛), yukata (
浴衣), and so on… This meant that the heat
coming from underneath the kotatsu would travel inside the
dress/robe and exit out of the neck. With that said, wearing
traditional Japanese clothing is still very much liked when using a
kotatsu particularly in public settings.
The history of the kotatsu is pretty interesting because it’s not a
modern invention, it came to be many centuries ago during the
Muromachi era 室町時代 (1336-1573).
It’s safe to say that they didn’t have electric heaters at the
time, but instead housed coal inside an
Annka 行火, which is a box type heater. The
Annka was made of either wood or clay and placed in the
irori 囲炉裏, the fire pit of the
house.
Back in the day, people needed something to keep the home warm and
to cook food. The Irori was used to do just that, it was a
traditional Japanese hearth, a square pit dug in the middle of a
room filled with fire wood and ashes. On top of the Irori there
would sometimes be an Annka. The Annka was developed into a larger
size, the hearth was dug deeper to about 40cms deep, and it had
scaffolding covering the entire irori.
The type of coal used varied, but it was primarily charcoal
(essentially smoked, dried wood). A blanket covered the scaffolding
to keep both legs and feet warm. As mentioned earlier the design
moved the heat throughout the body in due part of the traditional
clothing style making it an incredible soothing experience for
anyone using the kotatsu.
Hearing about the kotatsu outside of Japan is rare enough but the
horigotatsu is much rarer even though it has western roots. Once
upon a time there was a British art teacher named Bernard Leach
whom lived in Japan and he loved the kotatsu but was too tall to
really use it comfortably. He decided to dig deep enough so that it
would be possible to sit comfortably with legs dangling inside
underneath. In the center, there’s also a slightly deeper hole for
the modern electric heater.
This concept took off and became widely used around restaurants in
Japan. Many natives and foreigners love this style since there’s no
need to sit in
seiza 正座
(proper sitting position) in public. Some alterations don’t
even have a heating element inside, instead they use ducts similar
to western culture.
In the western world where floor heat racks are commonplace,
animals love to sit on or near them and the same is true in Japan
with the kotatsu. Both cats and dogs love to huddle in or around
it, making it not only enjoyable to humans but also for our furry
family members.
Finding a Kotatsu to purchase in Japan is fairly simple, they can
be found in department stores, in malls, furniture stores, and in
many other places. When purchasing a kotatsu customers are given
many different options from what type of frame, table top, heater,
and even blanket.
It’s truly a customizable experience and no two Kotatsu is made the
same. With that in mind, the cost can be pretty hefty. The electric
heater alone can cost between ¥5,000 – ¥20,000 (roughly $42 -
$165USD). The frame can easily cost over ¥36000 ($300USD) although
cheap models can run as low as ¥2400 ($20USD). The cover can cost
as much as you would like to spend as there are many different
types.
Purchasing a Kotasu outside of Japan can be difficult as it isn’t
widely adopted, in fact all parts of the kotatsu is usually
imported. Because of this, the cost of a Kotatsu can easily double
what it costs in Japan. If there are no local Asian supermarket or
department stores that carry kotatsu parts, it may be best to
either purchase them via the internet or if you’re brave enough,
you could build one yourself and you could easily just saw table
legs off a table for the right height. If you know where to get
one, please let us know where in
our
forums!
Now that you have learned just about everything you will ever need
to know about the kotatsu, are you interested in having your own or
trying it in Japan? Please let us know what you think about the
kotatsu!