Yoshio Mamiya doesn't need reminding that o-shogatsu is almost here. For several weeks, the 78-year-old craftsman has been working 12-hour days, seven days a week at his studio in the Sanno district of Tokyo's Ota Ward, where he busily stitches away to meet his customers' demand to renew their domestic tatami mats before the new year.
"December is the busiest month," Mamiya says, "though we used to be three times busier before."
The traditional yearend ritual of replacing a home's old tatami with sweet-smelling, fresh new mats is just one of many at this time of year in Japan -- though like many other age-old practices, its popularity is steadily declining in the face of rapidly changing lifestyles. But still, Mamiya says, the annual buildup to o-shogatsu is a season of hectic work.