One of the great innovations (though occurring less and less in new housing) is the hori-kotatsu. Most if not all Japanese homes have at least a kotatsu, which is a low table with a built in heater and a doona or blanket to retain the heat. The hori-kotatsu takes this principle further. There is a boxed hole in the floor, on which a table sits. A blanket slipped under the table and a round of cushions for sitting on completes the ensemble. On sits on the floor, legs danging in the hole, with the table at roughly waist high. There is an electric heater in the base of the hole.
I can't relate the sheer joy of hopping from bed on a wintry morning, popping on the kettle. and then sitting in the hori-kotatsu. Me, with the ubiquitous Daily Yomuiri spread in front, a cup of tea and a cream biscuit.. Or after classes, with a Sapporo or an Asahi, the NHK News At 10, any stresses seeping into the ground. It may well be my favourite thing about the house at Mukogaoka. At the end of winter, the unit packed up neatly and the floor became, well, the floor again.
In the picture, Nadia is sitiing in the hori-kotatsu and the infant Tom is apparently flipping through a book. You can see how his baby chair has been pushed up against the unit. In the background, the dining table has been moved aside, until the spring.
No comments:
Post a Comment