An alcove *tokonoma 床の間, with a wooden base, found in a small tea ceremony room that seldom exceeds 4 1/2 mats *yojōhan 四畳半. The standard size of the daimedoko is about 129 cm x 72 cm, which was the favorite size used by Sen no Rikyū 千利休 (1522-91). The length of the daimedoko may vary from 120 cm to 136 cm, depending on the tastes of an individual tea master. Furuta Oribe 古田織部 (1544-1615) and Kobori Enshū 小堀遠州 (1579-1647) favored very small daimedoko, 120 cm x 72 cm. The Chasō kanwa 茶窓間話 (1804) states that Takeno Jōō 武野紹鴎 (1502-55) had an alcove of a normal mat size in his 4.5 mat tea ceremony room *chashitsu 茶室. It is believed that Sen Dōan 千道安 (1546-1606) shortened the alcove mat to 130 cm, which won the praise of Sen no Rikyū. The Sōtan nikki 宗旦日記, attributed to Sen Sōtan 千宗旦(1578-1658), mentions a daimedoko 121 cm long: "In a Nagoya 名古屋 tea ceremony given by Hashiba Chikuzen 羽柴筑前 (1592), a 4-mat room had a 121 cm alcove".