How to Use tatami in a Sentence

tatami

noun
  • By this time, phones up and down the counter have been lifted from their phone-size tatami mats.
    — Pete Wells, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2022
  • This is a traditional ryokan with tatami straw mats and beds.
    — Yukari Sakamoto, AFAR Media, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Spring light shining in through the windows formed little sunny squares on the tatami.
    — Haruki Murakami, The New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2023
  • In Japan, this principle meant the widespread use of tatami -- floor mats made from rice straw.
    — Georgia McCafferty, CNN, 20 June 2017
  • Rooms range from cozy studios to sprawling apartments with tatami spaces and deep soaking tubs.
    — Denny Lee, Travel + Leisure, 15 Dec. 2025
  • My living space consists of one tatami room, a tiny kitchen with a single-burner stove, a leaky shower.
    — Mieko Kawakami, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2024
  • The son of a dirt-poor weaver of tatami mats, Asahara attended a boarding school for the blind.
    — David E. Kaplan and Andrew Marshall, WIRED, 1 July 1996
  • Diners remove shoes, step on to tatami flooring and sit on a cushion before a low table.
    — The Seattle Times, 7 Sep. 2018
  • Loneliness had coated the inside of his cabinets like mold and thrived in the weave of his tatami.
    — Yukio Mishima, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024
  • The roadway was a river of fire, with homes and their contents, tatami mats, futons, rucksacks, all in flames.
    — Brad Lendon and Emiko Jozuka, CNN, 7 Mar. 2020
  • How Ono had jumped down onto all fours and begun licking the tatami mats and futon and squirmed on them like a beast.
    — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 25 Oct. 2017
  • Guests sit on tatami mats with a view of a Japanese garden with a waterfall.
    — Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2025
  • Near the dining area is a tatami mat room in which the couple, instead of hosting tea ceremonies, like to share dessert.
    — Kurt Soller Josh Robenstone, New York Times, 17 May 2024
  • Nights are spent at traditional ryokan bed-and-breakfasts or temple lodgings laid out with tatami mats.
    — Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Oct. 2024
  • Sawayama zooms in on their feet, revealing that yes, the background fighters are wearing shoes on the tatami.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Subtly strewed aluminum casts of leaves, roots and even anchovies lie on the floor, or else on tatami mats sheathed in sheets of pale silicone.
    — Martha Schwendener, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
  • For example, the game room sports steel wall coverings, tatami mat ceilings, and suede galore.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 29 Sep. 2023
  • Wear or carry socks Some places, like temples or restaurants with tatami mats, may require you to remove your shoes.
    — Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 24 June 2024
  • Most of the spacious rooms are Western in style, with beds rather than futons, and trade in tatami mats for wooden flooring.
    — Christina Liao, Vogue, 12 Jan. 2018
  • Most of the spacious rooms are Western in style, with beds rather than futons, and trade in tatami mats for wooden flooring.
    — Christina Liao, Vogue, 12 Jan. 2018
  • Most of the spacious rooms are Western in style, with beds rather than futons, and trade in tatami mats for wooden flooring.
    — Christina Liao, Vogue, 12 Jan. 2018
  • There are 26 rooms with tatami mats, six of them with their own bathrooms, plus one room with a Western-style single bed.
    — Rob Goss, AFAR Media, 26 Aug. 2025
  • Two of her dancers are seen dancing and faux fighting behind her in martial arts outfits while wearing sneakers on tatami mats.
    — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Both the semi-private tatami mat rooms and the chef’s choice omakase sushi option require advanced reservations.
    — oregonlive, 17 Feb. 2023
  • Each of the 21 rooms on this floor has tatami floors, sliding doors, and a traditional dining setup.
    — Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 10 Sep. 2024
  • Our spacious tatami room had a wraparound terrace directly on the harbor and views from every window.
    — Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 June 2017
  • Meals run at least three hours and are served inside a traditional Japanese house with tatami floors and garden views.
    — Kaila Yu, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
  • The two-floor structure welcomes you in with a main level equipped with a full kitchen, two bathrooms, and a tatami room that converts into a spare bedroom.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 23 Apr. 2026
  • This is a traditional Japanese guesthouse with three rooms to rent, each with futons and tatami mats.
    — The Washington Post, The Denver Post, 23 Feb. 2017
  • Guests can opt for a Western-style bedroom on the ground floor or one of the traditional tatami rooms with futon beds upstairs.
    — Caitie Kelly Chris Schalkx Jinnie Lee Kyle Beechey Cathy Erway Caitie Kelly, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tatami.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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