Sleep is a universal human necessity, but the ways people sleep, think about sleep, and negotiate rest differ considerably across cultures. In Japan, the practices and assumptions around sleeping reveal much about social values, economic pressures, and historical continuity.
Traditional Sleeping Arrangements: Futons, Tatami, and Minimalism
One of the most iconic features of Japanese sleep culture is the futon-on-floor arrangement. Rather than a raised bed, many Japanese homes (especially in traditional or older-style dwellings) use a shikifuton laid directly on the floor or on tatami mats. The futon is typically rolled up or stored during daytime to make efficient use of living space.
Tatami mats—woven straw mats with soft but firm structure—serve as the underlying surface, offering a breathable, slightly yielding but stable foundation.
Shikifuton (or shikibuton) are relatively thin mattresses made of cotton or layered filling; they are not as thick or plush as many Western-style mattresses. For covering and warmth, a Kakefuton (a sort of duvet or cover) is used.
Some traditional setups also include sobakawa pillows (buckwheat hull pillows) which allow airflow and can be adjusted for firmness.
This style of sleeping has advantages in Japanese architectural and spatial logic: homes often have flexible, multi-purpose rooms, so that a sleeping space can be converted into a living area during daylight hours. Rolling up futons helps reclaim floor space.
Moreover, the firm, low-to-floor approach aligns with certain aesthetic and bodily philosophies: being closer to the ground is seen as more natural or grounded; the minimalism resonates with broader Japanese stylistic sensibilities (e.g. wabi-sabi).
That said, many modern Japanese households also adopt Western-style beds, especially in urban settings or newer apartments, so the traditional futon system is not universally maintained.
Inemuri: The Culture of Napping in Public or at Work
One of the most fascinating and culturally distinctive features of sleep in Japan is inemuri (居眠り), literally “sleeping while present.” Inemuri refers to the practice of dozing off in semi-public settings: on public transport, in offices, in meeting rooms, or during breaks. What makes inemuri unusual (from many Western perspectives) is that it is socially tolerated—even tacitly respected—as a sign of dedication or exhaustion (i.e. that you are pushing yourself so hard you must catch micronaps when possible).
In the Japanese context, falling asleep momentarily in the train or at one’s desk is not necessarily interpreted as laziness. Instead, it can be taken as evidence that one is overworked, that one is showing up early or staying late, or that the demands of one’s job or study schedule have overtaken sleep. Some see it as a display of “I’m working so hard I must steal rest where I can.”
But inemuri also comes with unspoken rules: where and when you doze matters (you should not snore loudly, block others, or appear entirely disengaged). The appearance must suggest that you are still alert, that you're not fully disengaged.
Anthropologist Brigitte Steger has studied how sleep and napping are negotiated in Japanese social life, framing inemuri not simply as a symptom of sleep deprivation but as part of a cultural logic of presence and absence.
Thus in Japan, “napping in public” is less a sign of weakness and more a tacit acknowledgment of relentless work rhythms and of expectations about self-sacrifice.
Sleep Duration, Quality, and Pressures in Contemporary Japan
While inemuri is culturally embedded, many Japanese people report difficulties attaining sufficient sleep. According to a survey by Rakuten Insight, more than 63 % of respondents indicated having some sleep problem.
Among the leading causes were work stress, fatigue, and waking in the middle of the night. Reportedly, the average sleep time during weekdays is about 6.1 hours, while the ideal amount of sleep respondents would desire is around 7.3 hours.
Cross-cultural sleep research has also flagged Japanese and Koreans among those who sleep comparatively less among surveyed populations. For example, in a 30-country survey, Japanese participants had among the shortest average durations.
In a study comparing Japanese and Canadian university students, Japanese participants slept significantly less (on average) and had lower sleep efficiency (i.e. a lower percentage of time in bed actually sleeping), yet paradoxically reported less subjective sleepiness.
Interestingly, the Japanese participants perceived a weaker relationship between sleep and health and idealized a shorter sleep time than their Canadian counterparts.
These data point to a tension: even as Japanese people are sleeping less, cultural norms may discourage full acknowledgment of sleep as a vital health behavior. In other words, the social script does not always valorize maximal rest; sometimes sleep is framed as something to be squeezed in, stolen, or de-emphasized.
In particular, academic pressures play a role: many Japanese students stay up late studying for exams, sacrifice sleep, or cram. Steger’s research notes that high school students may sleep through class to compensate for extended night study.
Moreover, Japan has a general work culture known for long hours, firm expectations, “presenteeism” (being visibly at work), and sometimes blurred boundaries between work and private life. Those cultural and institutional pressures inevitably impinge on sleep.
Cultural Meanings, Continuities, and Emerging Trends
Sleep in Japan is not just a physiologic act but a site of symbolic, social, and historical negotiation. The historical and cultural logic of sleep in Japan has deep roots. The Social and Cultural Aspects of Sleep in Japan research project notes that over time, Japanese sleep practices have evolved through premodern, early modern, and contemporary eras; each period reshapes how sleep is configured socially.
One concept that emerges in comparative anthropology is that of polyphasic sleep (i.e. breaking sleep into more than one major block). Some scholars argue that both in premodern and postmodern Japan, sleep schedules have often been segmented or punctuated by naps—i.e. people may rely on micro-rest periods beyond a single long, uninterrupted sleep block.
Japanese sleeping habits - and regular naps - reconcile between tradition, modern life, and social constraints, being a negotiation between duty, availability (space, work, social expectation) and cultural ideals (simplicity, presence, self-control). For instance, the minimal futon system is spatially efficient and aesthetically resonant, yet modern life also pushes many toward Western beds for comfort.
Another area of change is the increasing attention to sleep health, wellness, and technology. As more people become aware of sleep’s role in health, some Japanese consumers adopt sleep trackers, better mattresses, or strategies to mitigate insomnia and fatigue. Though detailed ethnographic data on this trend remains emerging, it’s possible that future studies will trace how “sleep health culture” develops in Japan in dialogue with global wellness discourses.
What We Can Learn (and What Remains Unclear)
From the Japanese case, several broader lessons emerge:
Sleep is socially negotiated. It is not simply a biological imperative but is mediated by architecture (small spaces, multi-use rooms), work regimes, and norms about visibility, diligence, and sacrifice.
Public napping (inemuri) offers a cultural logic for reconciling rest and responsibility. Western framings of sleep as private, domestic, and sacred may overlook how some societies integrate micro-rest into public life.
Sleep deprivation may be normalized. The fact that many Japanese report short sleep but do not feel—or admit to—severe impairment suggests cultural adaptation or suppression of discourse about fatigue.
One thing we can take for granted: if sleeping in a futon was not comfortable, it would have fallen in disuse decades ago.
Bibliographical References
Brunt, Lodewijk & Steger, Brigitte (eds.) Night‐time and Sleep in Asia and the West: Exploring the Dark Side of Life. Routledge, 2003. ISBN 10: 0415860040 / ISBN 13: 978-0415860048
Steger, Brigitte Inemuri: Wie die Japaner schlafen und was wir von ihnen lernen können. (German edition) ISBN: 978-3499621949
Brunt, Lodewijk & Steger, Brigitte (eds.) Night-time and Sleep in Asia and the West: Exploring the Dark Side of Life. (Alternate paperback edition) ISBN: 978-0415318501