Traditional Japanese Sitting Style with Zaisu Chairs

Zaisu chairs are a floor sitting. A piece of furniture that came into style in Japan during the Muromachi period. During that period of architecture, floors were covered in thick straw mats known as “tatami”.

The ruling warrior class created strict rules about living daily lives which brought on the sitting posture called “seiza” as it was deemed the respectful way to sit. Now, Japanese dining furniture sets featuring Zaisu chairs are popular as families adopt traditional Japanese ways of living in an effort to improve the connection a family feels while spending time together.

The zaisu chair is designed for the japanese people in mind as it is a very special kind of chair. There are no legs. It is directly on the floor. A short wooden or cloth back is fitted to the chair for comfort and support.

You will mostly find this zaisu chair in traditional japanese rooms known as washitsu. These rooms are no longer in every Japanese home as they were in the older days. This is a room that is only to be used for guests or special events. A washitsu room will have straw tatami mats on the floor along with other types of decor and furniture such as shoji doors and windows.

In this room traditional Japanese meals are served at low tables. The diners here will each have a tamiti mat or a cushion known as zabuton, which are placed around the table. They will sit in a certain position which is known as seiza. When you are in the seiza position, your legs are folded under the body.

This type of seating known as seiza was very common in older days in Japan but is now no longer in fashion. It is known as being an uncomfortable position to sit in for extended periods of time. Those who are not used to it, especially foreign, will struggle to maintain this position throughout a meal.

The zaisu chair is a sort of in between which allows you to sit more comfortably on a tamiti mat or zabuton. The back rest of the chair allows for a more relaxed position. This way you can extend the legs out in front rather than under the body for less stress.

There is even a zaisu chair that has more features that are balanced and can be rocked back slightly and supports the weight of the person allowing a more relaxed seating position.

The zaisu chair comes in mainly wood, but there is also a metal version. There are also folding zaisu chairs for easy storage beneath the low lying Japanese style of table. These will normally be with the zabuton cushion.

The chair is normally associated with meals and visits, but it can also be found in the living area as well. This style of chair will normally have padding on both the seat and the back rest. A guest may find this style of chair throughout a house when he or she visits.

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