I've been meaning to look into what these were for a while now, I've
seen them so much in anime with many characters talking about and around
them yet I've never bothered to remember what they are. I'm talking
about the Kotatsu.
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Kotatsu: a light blanket (Shitagake) is covered by a heavier blanket (Kogatsu-gake) under the tabletop |
The Kotatsu is a Japanese table that has heating
underneath it (mainly electric these days but it used to be coal),
sealed from the outside with a blanket/futon insulation running around
the edge. Obviously the upper half of your body would still be exposed
but the theory was that the heat would travel up from the bottom of your
robe to the top, basically creating a warm current. I don't know if
this actually worked or not but one thing's for certain, it sounds like
the Japanese have it rough when it comes to heating. Apparently there
are few modern Japanese apartments that have central heating as well as
air conditioning so usually the tenants have to provide it themselves
which isn't as effective. Indeed this clearly makes the Kotatsu an
important part of the house, one where the family gather round for
dinner, or watch telly.
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Top one is the more mobile, electric Kotatsu or Oki-gotatsu and the one underneath is the stationary Charcoal Kotatsu or Hori-gotatsu |
It being something for people to gather round makes it a focal location for conversation in many anime.
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Apparantly there's a saying or belief that if you sleep under a Kotatsu you'll catch a cold |
I'd love to have one at my place, not just for the
sake of having something Japanese in the house but because I reckon it
looks genuinely really comfortable. I'll definitely have to get one at
some point in my life, especially if I get a cat
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Pets have taken advantage of the Kotatsu, it must be amazing to be able to fit under one |
Here are the sources for my information:
TV Tropes
The Kotatsu: a different way of thinking about Tables
Kotatsu: The Heated Small Space Desktop
The Cold and the Kotatsu
Kotatsu wikipedia