Kotatsu - a hybrid of table, blankets and heater

For years, Japan has been confidently retaining its leadership in various "high" technologies. At the same time, the Japanese showed ingenuity and originality long before scientific progress, which began to develop at the end of the last century. One of the clearest examples is the kotatsu table, which, along with its main purpose, plays the role of a heater. It was created at the end of the XV century.

What is kotatsu

Kotsu is a traditional table in Japan, small in size, with a heater installed inside, covered with a futon (a kind of hybrid of a mattress and a blanket). On top of the whole structure is placed the table top.

Winters in the Land of the Rising Sun are relatively warm, without strong temperature drops, but sometimes it becomes very cold in the rooms, especially in the traditional dwellings of the Japanese, where the walls are rather thin.

And since electricity in this country is expensive, residents do not heat their houses, but they heat themselves. Therefore, in winter, they sit down at the kotatsu. The temperature regime of modern heaters, which are installed in the table, can be controlled by the regulator, and the futon perfectly retains heat.

How to use kotatsu

To warm up, the Japanese sit around the kotatsu on special pillows, which are called “zabuton” - you can completely hide yourself with a futon or just wrap your legs. The blanket isolates a small amount of heated air that does not circulate throughout the house, but is used only for the comfort of the human body.

Reference! As the Japanese themselves say, their unique invention helps to feel comfortable even in a room that is not fully heated. This is quite advantageous, since the kotatsu itself does not require a significant amount of electricity.

Advantages and disadvantages

Since the kotatsu is a purely Japanese invention, the chairs are not needed. You can comfortably eat at the table, use a laptop, or just have a conversation with family and friends over tea.

Naturally, only the lower part of the body is heated, but this is quite enough not to freeze and feel the homely atmosphere of warmth and comfort.

In addition, in our country, for example, heating radiators are always turned on, and kotatsu can be installed instead of a heater on very frosty days (in Japan this can be limited to, but in our country constant additional heating is necessary).

By the way, in Japan, this invention is not only used in homes - there are even kotatsu trains.

A friendly atmosphere reigns around kotatsu, and is it possible to otherwise communicate with relatives, being literally under one blanket? All family members feel closer to each other and much more comfortable.

In addition, if you use the table alone, you can completely crawl under it and enjoy childhood memories, when we all loved to build "huts".

There is ample space for a night’s rest under the table, but there’s still one drawback. Japanese parents most often do not allow children to rest at night in Kotatsu, as there is a certain risk of ignition of this furniture. Heated plastic and other fire-hazardous materials from which the table is made can become a real trap for kids during the night rest.

Watch the video: JAPAN VLOG WTF IS A GAS HEATER?? (March 2024).

Leave Your Comment