Today I had a pleasant surprise. My friend and cofounder of Novabox Studios dropped by with his belated wedding/Christmas/birthday gift.
I must say I didn't see it coming. He made me a Japanese kotatsu. Its a beautiful handmade piece of furniture.
If you don't know what a kotatsu is you are not alone. My mother had no idea what it was and kept questioning why a blanket was involved.
A kotatsu is a traditional piece of Japanese furniture. It serves as a simple table during the summer months and "During the winter months in Japan, the kotatsu is often the center of domestic life. In the evening family members gather around the kotatsu to enjoy food, television, games and conversation while keeping their bottom half warm under the kotatsu. It has been said that, "once under the kotatsu, all of your worries slip away as a familiar warmth takes over and you become completely relaxed."" - Wikipedia
A blanket is used to cover the legs and a heating element (traditionally a pit filled with charcoal) is used to heat the space providing a comfortable warmth. Many Japanese homes do not have heating systems as many areas of Japan do not get very cold during the winter and central heating is still not very popular. The kotatsu provides a warm place to gather when the rest of the home gets chilly.
Here are a couple of pictures of the table without the blanket.
Sitting on the right is the creator Austin Palmer.
Apparently he got the idea from a combination of my interest in Japanese culture and animation as well as a recent show hes been hooked on Lucky Star. Cue pic of two of the main characters (Tsukasa and Konata) complete with a kotatsu on the edge of the picture.
The show itself is a slightly random slice of life show about nothing in particular. It is full of various jokes about japanese, otaku, and american culture (One character is an american exchange student). A good portion of the scenes take place with the four main characters gathered around a kotatsu discussing some facet of life. Its a little hard to get into unless you are familiar with japanese culture and anime in general. If you are familiar its a fun show to watch with many witty observations of strange aspects of life, and some pretty good jabs at Americans.
Hopefully I will post more soon. I definitely have been shirking this duty. Till next time.
I must say I didn't see it coming. He made me a Japanese kotatsu. Its a beautiful handmade piece of furniture.
If you don't know what a kotatsu is you are not alone. My mother had no idea what it was and kept questioning why a blanket was involved.
A kotatsu is a traditional piece of Japanese furniture. It serves as a simple table during the summer months and "During the winter months in Japan, the kotatsu is often the center of domestic life. In the evening family members gather around the kotatsu to enjoy food, television, games and conversation while keeping their bottom half warm under the kotatsu. It has been said that, "once under the kotatsu, all of your worries slip away as a familiar warmth takes over and you become completely relaxed."" - Wikipedia
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