Tataki talk (三和土)

[edmundedgar]

So I've got this really great room at the front of my house (see backstory) that the potter who built the place used to use for guests when she was selling them expensive pots.

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Apparently it originally had an earth floor, which continued when she made some money and built a new place. One of the later tenants wasn't so keen on the earth and put down gravel, which is the way it is today.

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The Mrs, who is seldom wrong, thinks we should get rid of the gravel and put in tataki (三和土). As far as I can make out tataki is kind of halfway between a simple earth floor and concrete - for example, you apparently mix in magnesium chloride at one point - but it seems to be harder and smoother than a simple earth floor. However some places seem to use "tataki" to just mean an earth floor hardened by hitting it repeatedly with a flattened stick.

So does anyone have any experience or tips? In particular I saw something about @BrettRas doing a workshop, so presumably he knows a lot. What's it like to live with? Is it practical? Anything I should be aware of? And is it something where amateurs can do a reasonably good job, or should I call a professional? And are there any professionals, or are they all dead?

[Zasso Nouka]

Oh man, what an awesome room to have in your house @BrettRas is definitely the man to speak to on this subject, hopefully he will pop in soon. Seeing how he progressed his skills through his various projects was pretty inspirational and would suggest you could also do it yourself if you have the time and inclination.

Can't wait to see how you get on transforming this space if you do decide to change it to tataki.

[BrettRas]

Tataki 三和土 is a mix of three main components: earth, lime, and nigari. Those are the 3 和s referred to in the kanji. There are places that forego the nigari and then the kanji can change to 二和土 but it's still said as tataki.
And of course the tataki also refers to the pounding involved in compressing the earth. You can achieve a variety of finishes depending on the components (especially clay/soil/sand types) in the mix you use.


It certainly is doable by oneself, but you'd likely want to practice and experiment with the mix of materials to see what works best for the soil you use. There are folks you can hire to do it, but they are certainly in the minority these days. If you want to try it on your own, I'd recommend trying to find a workshop to participate in first, you will pick up a lot of good tips and can get a feel for the tools you'll need, basic mix ratios, etc. Unfortunately I don't currently have any plans to do a tataki workshop this year. Maybe next.

Tataki floors are nice to live with, and are practical. So much nicer and better for the home than concrete, which is what most tataki has become these days.

[Tora]

Are tataki floors for interior only? Protected exterior? Full weather exposure options?

I’m considering them as an option for a future workshop.
I also want to solidify the soil around the house (inubashiri) to prevent rain damage to the house. Concrete is the norm but if there’s a better way I’d like to do that.

[edmundedgar]

Are tataki floors for interior only? Protected exterior? Full weather exposure options?

I’m considering them as an option for a future workshop.
I also want to solidify the soil around the house (inubashiri) to prevent rain damage to the house. Concrete is the norm but if there’s a better way I’d like to do that.

Not an expert but from what I've read it seems like it's mostly used for covered spaces, that are otherwise "outside", for example see how these people do it:
http://kuichi.net/053sekoujirei.html

So if you've got a roof overhanging your inubashiri I guess that would work? But if it's completely exposed than that sounds bad.

[edmundedgar]

Quick update, I found a tataki 職人 (a tataki craftsman? a tataki artist? a tataki dude?), courtesy of a local architect who we ran into too late to actually help design the house but was kind of into it.

The architect blogged:
https://hapi-ken.com/archives/9295

[gonbechan]

That is too cool! Can't wait to see when it is all done.

[Zasso Nouka]

Awesome man,

I'm also keen to see how it looks when finished.