Sanya Arts Space

“Umarmung” was a piece originally commissioned for a private residence in Tokyo, Japan. The floor sitting couch is perhaps the first of its kind. The Zaisu chair has graced Japanese culture for centuries creating awareness around the world with its floor sitting design. The natural evolution is for “floor sitting design” to move into other furniture objects, in this case a couch. Christhoph Vogl had this to say about the project, “Umarmung is inspired by the long tradition of floor-sitting culture in Japan where the connection between the body and conversations is not restricted to universal seat height and conventional definition of sofa”.

Post from Umarmung Traditional Japanese Floor Sitting Couch

Zaisu chairs are a floor sitting 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. Via.

Post from Zaisu Chairs : Dining Furniture in Traditional Japanese Sitting Style