Traditions Fade as Japanese Spruce Up Homes

Traditions Fade as Japanese Spruce Up Homes
Sick of living in cramped conditions, many Japanese are ditching centuries-old traditions and unique materials to redesign their homes in what some critics decry as a bland international style.

Gone are imposing entrance halls and warrens of tiny straw-matted rooms. These have been swept aside to make way for large open-plan kitchens and living rooms, says Erisa Sumita, editor of upmarket interiors magazine "I'm Home".

"In the old days, people would speak to guests in the entrance hall, or else show them through to a reception room. It was highly unusual to have a visitor come into your kitchen," she says.

Though one of the world's wealthiest countries, and one that is credited with inventing minimalist design, lack of usable building space in Japan has been making home life cramped and chaotic for many even middle-class families.

But as living space starts to increase, the average was 94 square metres (about 1,000 square feet) in 2003 compared with 70 square metres in 1973, and families shrink, Japanese consumers with cash to spare now want to transform their homes into elegant showpieces where they can entertain their friends.