Futon

[1] Both elements of a futon bedding set are pliable enough to be folded and stored away in a large closet (押入れ, oshiire) during the day.

Before recycled cotton cloth was widely available in Japan, commoners used kami busuma, stitched crinkled paper stuffed with fibers from beaten dry straw, cattails, or silk waste, on mushiro straw floor mats.

Later, futons were made with patchwork recycled cotton, quilted together and filled with bast fiber.

[5] They may be filled with beans, buckwheat chaff,[5][7] bran,[8] or, modernly, plastic beads,[5][7] all of which mold to the head.

[6] Futons are traditionally laid on tatami rush mats,[7] which are resilient and can absorb and re-release up to half a liter of moisture each.

Depending on the weather, they may be layered with a warm mōfu (毛布), or replaced with a lighter taoruketto (タオルケット).

[15][16] However, Western-style futons, which typically resemble low, wooden sofa beds, differ considerably from their Japanese counterparts.

[1][17] They often have the dimensions of standard western mattresses, and are too thick to fold double and stow easily in a cupboard.

Traditional European beds resembled Japanese-style futon sets, with thin tick mattresses.