Battle Lost

Today was not photo-taking weather.

Ergo, the answer.

The strips of cloth in the previous post are called tatamiheri, and are sewn on the borders of tatami mats. In the Heian period (794-1185), the tatamiheri would signify the householder's social rank. Nowadays, I'm guessing that the color and the material of the cloth vary only according to how much you are willing to pay.

I had romantic notions of an old man kneeling in a room and weaving the tatami mats by hand, but seeing this machine brought me back to reality. The bubble completely burst when I realized that the tatamiheri weren't being hung out to dry, they were simply thrown out.