Word: tatami
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Each renovation has preserved the integrity of the original structure while giving the interior a five-star makeover. Well-chosen art and antiques from Kerr's own impressive collection are displayed in settings of tatami matting and cream walls. Some homes include stylish Japanese gardens, others offer decking that overlooks the gently flowing Kamo River. Comfort is never compromised - there are fluffy futons and under-floor heating, deep cedar baths, broadband wi-fi and small but well-equipped kitchens. And each house has a story to tell: one was a former artist's atelier; another used to be a geisha...
...invitation to steep ourselves in Kitcho's tradition. We were ushered into a European parlor and sat stiffly on the ornately carved green-leather chairs sipping ice-cold umeshu, a sweet plum cordial. A maid came to conduct us to our table, which was set in a private tatami room and big enough to seat 20. The vast, minimalist space was fit for a state dinner (in fact, the former Prime Minister had once stopped by for lunch). But if there were any other guests, we saw no sign of them. Our privacy was almost daunting...
...commuter trains rumble outside the window of Shinobu's crowded kitchen, we prepare tuna sushi cake, tofu, a carrot and radish soup and a vinaigrette salad. As we sit on the tatami mat, sipping plum wine and eating from each bowl in turn, the kimono-clad 60-year-old explains what makes a proper Japanese meal. "It's about the balance of nutrition," she says. "We need to have fish, vegetables, soup at every meal - and of course rice." Shinobu's meal is scrumptious, but when I compliment her, she demurs. "I'm just an ordinary housewife...
...Thirty years ago, perhaps, but today Shinobu is anything but ordinary. The proper Japanese meal, prepared by the mother and eaten on the tatami mat by the entire family, is increasingly rare, thanks to long hours at work and at school, and social changes that have resulted in more women working out of the home and delaying marriage. With limited time and inclination for balanced home cooking, many people simply grab prepackaged meals at ubiquitous convenience stores, or down fattening fast food. That has nutritionists and public officials fearing that knowledge of traditional Japanese cooking - and eating -is being lost...
...team of nurses and physical therapists are available for house calls. An hour or so of home care burns fewer resources than a day in the hospital, Saito points out, and it's the option preferred by his elderly patients. "In Japan, people want to die on a tatami floor at home," says Saito, with characteristic directness. "We should meet that desire. And it's less costly for society...