FUTON

Futon is a traditional Japanese bedding.
It is flexible and very covenient.
In the day time you can fold up and put it in the closet,
and use the floor space for other activities..
Then at night, spread it out again on the tatami.

On a fine day, place futon in the sun for a few hours.
That will keep it fluffy, dry and protect from mold and ticks.

The condition that a futon laid out for days
on tatami without being put away in the closet and/or
place in the sun daily
is called " mannen doko"(lit. ten-thousand year bed )
and as the name suggests, it is unhygienic.
Because it is said that a man produce 200cc of sweat per a night while sleeping in a bed.
If your room doesn't get any sun light, you should buy
"futon kansou-ki " or futon dryer

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As an aside....Though I don't want to believe....
* There is no residence without ticks in the world.
* Humans except newborn babies keep ticks in the face, brests, scalps, etc.
even beautiful or handsome movie stars, Miss Universes, kings ......
(Usually they are transmitted babies during breast-feeding.)
There are two species. One is Demodex Brevis (scientific name) living in a sebaceum gland and
the other is Demodex Folliculorum (scientific name) living in a hair root.

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How to lay out futon
1.Unfold the shikibuton on the tatami floor
2. Put a sheet / shiitsu on it
3.( in winter ) Put a blanket / moufu
4.(in winter) Thick kakebuton
(in summer ) Hada-kakebuuton

Sleep between a sheet and a blanket

The best condition of air between mattress futon and cover futon when we sleep is
33deg C for temperture and 50% for humidity.

1: Shiki-buton/mattress (When you use a thin shiki-buton, please use a mattoresu [bottom mattress] under it)	2: Shiki-buton with a sheet ((We also have a fit-type sheet)	3: Spread a shikifu (sheet)
4: Wrap a shiki-buton and put a pillow	5: Blanket No need in spring, summer and autumn,	6: Kake-buton/comforter In summer we use Hadakake-futon (thin and smaller summer futon) or towelket (cotton blanket)

There is a superstition that you shouldn't lay the futon
so that the head point to the north.
It is called "kita-makura"(lit. north pillow) and that is the way
a dead person is traditionally laid.
When the Buddha died, he was placed with his head to the north,
after that it become a taboo.

There are two Japan's best futon artisans in Nagoya.
One is Niwa Masayuki. He won the Prime Minister's Prize and also the Medal with Blue Ribbon in 2009
The other is his son, Niwa Takuya. He also won the grand prix of futon making skill competition.
If you want to purchase a futon set made by them, you have to wait at least 2 or 3 years.
The name of the futon shop is "Niwa Futon-ten"
Address: 116, Kawada-cho, Atsuta-ku, Nagoya
TEL/Fax: 052-671-6473
Official website is here.

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