In a traditional Japanese house, people don’t sit on chairs or sleep on beds. They sit and sleep on the floor using cushions and futon bedding. The way the Japanese room is designed makes this possible. It evolved over time as an extension of the way people live and as an expression of the native culture. Even today, when Western style rooms with chairs and beds are common, most houses have at least one room in traditional style. Japanese room serves as a living and dining room, and at night, it can be used as a bed room by laying out the futon. The futon is folded up in the morning and stored in the closet called oshiire. The room for guests is called the zashiki. The guest room usually has Tokonoma. Tokonoma is an alcove with a slightly raised floor. A work of calligraphy is displayed in the center of the alcove and a seasonal Ikebana (flower arrangement) or other ornaments is placed on the floor. For Ikebana the flowers should be fresh and in season.In Japanese calligraphy is called Shodo. It is the way of the written word, reached Japan from China. It is the artistic reproduction of script with the aid of ink, brush and paper. The wall hanging art works often show natural scenes, such as mountainous landscapes or birds. Dolls to mark special traditional occasions are also sometimes placed in the tokonoma. The tokonoma side in the room is the place of honor. In a traditional Japanese house there are a very few furniture. Usually you won’t find much else in a Japanese dining room besides the table. The Japanese style tables are usually low. It’s made of wood, have simple straight lines and ideally have a black or orange lacquer finish. Around the table they use Japanese style pillows called zabuton instead of chairs.