Tatami History

Throughout most of Japanese culture. In Japanese homes the floor itself would be made of wood. The tatami mats would serve a particular purpose such as sofa bed seating, in the living rooms of the well-to-do. 

Over the centuries their use widened. By the Edo period traditional Japanese-style rooms had become quite common, where nobles and martial arts samurai slept on tatami or woven mats named goza. While common people used rice straw mats or even rush grass for bedding.