Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

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Thanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this video! The first 500 people to use my link in the description or scan the QR code will receive a one month free trial of Skillshare! https://skl.sh/vbirchwood04261

The sleep week series is back! This time I'm exploring sleep during the 14th-15th centuries in Japan, meaning, I spent 7 days sleeping on tatami mats made of igusa (rush grass) and rice straw.

This was a very fun experience, and a little different than the sleep weeks I've done in the past.

Research consultant: Sarah Prince, researcher at University of St Andrews.
All other pre-production, production, and post-production roles were done by V. Birchwood

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Image Sources:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Men_Making_Tatami_Mats1860ca.1900.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaki_zoshi_Tokyopart1.jpeg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otomo_no_Yakamochi_Agedatamibon.gif
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tengu_zoshiNezuMuseum_scrolldetail2.jpg
[commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sleeping_twoKasugaGongen_Genki_(1309).jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sleeping_two,_Kasuga_Gongen_Genki_(1309).jpg)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Youkoukan06n4592.jpg
663highland, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Child%27s_Sleeping_Mat_%28boro_Shikimono%29%2C_late_19th_century_%28CH_1108827543%29.jpg
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/THE_FAMILY_IN_BED%281910%29illustrationpage137.png
[commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E7%99%BD%E7%B6%B8%E5%AD%90%E5%9C%B0%E7%89%A1%E4%B8%B9%E7%B8%9E%E6%A8%A1%E6%A7%98%E5%A4%9C%E7%9D%80-Kimono-shaped_Comforter_(YogiwithPeonies_and_Stripes_MET_DP317744.jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E7%99%BD%E7%B6%B8%E5%AD%90%E5%9C%B0%E7%89%A1%E4%B8%B9%E7%B8%9E%E6%A8%A1%E6%A7%98%E5%A4%9C%E7%9D%80-Kimono-shaped_Comforter_(Yogi)_with_Peonies_and_Stripes_MET_DP317744.jpg)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masasumi_Makura-gaeshi.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japon-1886-08.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japon-1886-15.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Futons_in_a_Ryokan_-_2.jpg
Christian Kadluba, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45412
[commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Farmhouse_%E6%B0%91%E5%AE%B6%E5%9C%92panoramio(7).jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Farmhouse_,_%E6%B0%91%E5%AE%B6%E5%9C%92_-_panoramio_(7).jpg)
z tanuki, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%9B%B2%E7%82%89%E8%A3%8F.jpg
くろふね, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yunokami-Onsen_Station_006.JPG
Tennen-Gas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kotatsu-tastefulTN.jpg
Tim Notari (tastefulTN), CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beauties_Playing_Cat%27s_Cradle-by_Suzuki_Harunobu-Tokyo_National_Museum.jpg
[commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E9%A2%A8%E6%B5%81%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E5%85%AB%E6%99%AF_%E7%9C%9F%E4%B9%B3%E5%B1%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%9A%AE%E9%9B%AA-Evening_Snow_on_Matsuchi_Hilllfromthe_series_Eight_Fashionable_Views_of_Edo_(Furyu_Edo_hakkeiMETDP119509.jpg](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E9%A2%A8%E6%B5%81%E6%B1%9F%E6%88%B8%E5%85%AB%E6%99%AF_%E7%9C%9F%E4%B9%B3%E5%B1%B1%E3%81%AE%E6%9A%AE%E9%9B%AA-Evening_Snow_on_Matsuchi_Hilll,_from_the_series_Eight_Fashionable_Views_of_Edo_(Furyu_Edo_hakkei)_MET_DP119509.jpg)
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drei_M%C3%A4dchen_am_Kotatsu1880%E2%80%931890,Kunsthalle_KarlsruheF51.jpg
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SekienMakuragaeshi.jpg

Further Reading:
uncannyjapan.com/podcast/kitamakura-and-fan-death
metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45412