11th January – 睦月

炬燵（こたつ）‐　Kotatsu

Table covered by blanket with heater inside.

This table appears in winter time and makes the inside very warm. Traditionally, Japanese house sit on the ground and in the old time, there was a hole under the table and used to put charcoal there to make under the blanket warm. = So the ground becomes like a chair because of the hole inside.

Kotatsu started from Meiji-era and it still continues to be seen (In my house as well!).

Have you ever heard of ‘Kotatsumuri'(コタツムリ)? Or can you guess what it is?

Tip for this question is … Snail. We call snail as Katatsumuri (カタツムリ).

The answer is… the people who stay inside the Kotatsu for all day! Because Kotatsu is too comfortable!! Seems like the same shape as the snail doesn’t it?

Kotatsu is very warm and comfortable inside, therefore many people fall asleep.

On the other hand, there is a superstition saying that people will catch a cold if they sleep in the Kotatsu. And it is proved as true… But why?

According to the study, sleeping while sitting in the Kotatsu will make the body temperature out of tune. As upper body is cold being outside and bottom is warm inside the Kotatsu, so body will be confused and cannot control the body temperature.

There is an another reason why we should not sleep while being inside the Kotatsu: because it will evaporate the moisture from our body. While we sleep we lose moisture inside our body unless we hydrate ourselves. The heat from the Kotatsu will accelerate dehydration so it is dangerous to sleep inside the Kotatsu.