As one of the oldest traditional features of Japanese homes today, tatami date back to at least the Nara Period (710-794), with their first written mention being in the “Kojiki” (The Record of Ancient Matters).

Primarily made of igusa (rush straw), tatami are an eco-friendly and naturally antibacterial form of interior insulation and can help regulate room humidity levels by wicking away moisture. Tatami’s required maintenance and lifespan of only 50 years, however, has led to their decline in contemporary homes.

This month, On: Design looks at a few innovations designed to recycle tatami waste, champion the benefits of igusa and help revitalize the waning industry.

New ideas in print

Earlier this year, Tatami Refab won the SalonSatellite Awards first prize at Milan del Salone for its exploration of 3D printing as a means to recycle tatami waste and remodel igusa into a new product material. Produced by Honoka Lab, a team of six up-and-coming designers, and manufactured by 3D printer maker ExtraBold, Tatami Refab repurposes discarded mats and igusa supplied by the homeware and furnishings company Ikehiko. Key to this project is the recycled material used in ExtraBold’s newly developed industrial pellet-fed 3D printer: a blend of pulverized igusa and biodegradable cellulose acetate. All the new product designs also experiment with 3D-printing extrusion techniques and texture.

Left to right: Details of James Kaoru Bury’s Tachiwaki washbasin, Moritaka Tochigi’s Yocell stool and Ryo Suzuki’s Sori lampshade.
Left to right: Details of James Kaoru Bury’s Tachiwaki washbasin, Moritaka Tochigi’s Yocell stool and Ryo Suzuki’s Sori lampshade.

There are seven Tatami Refab designs totaling nine prototype products. The knitted appearance of Ryo Suzuki’s rounded Sori lampshade and Mukuri table showcases the complexity of detail that ExtraBold’s printer can achieve. In each product, the texture emphasizes the translucency of the material, its green hue changing in intensity depending on the viewing angle. James Kaoru Bury, inspired by traditional Japanese tachiwaki (rising stream) textile patterns, manipulated the extrusion speed of the 3D printer to create undulating bars for his cylindrical Tachiwaki washbasin stand.

Also influenced by traditional motifs are two striking stools: Moritaka Tochigi’s hexagonal Yocell, which features triangular prisms tessellated into an asanoha (hemp leaf) pattern and textured by the striations of its 3D-printed layers; and Shoichi Yokohama’s smooth-contoured Chigusa composed of grooved strips that radiate and arch from its center like the sensuji (1,000 lines) designs of Japanese tableware.

Left to right: Details of Shinnosuke Harada’s Taba lighting, Kazuki Fujiwara’s Ami stool and Shoichi Yokohama’s Chigusa stool.
Left to right: Details of Shinnosuke Harada’s Taba lighting, Kazuki Fujiwara’s Ami stool and Shoichi Yokohama’s Chigusa stool.

Two pieces of Tatami Refab furniture evoke more organic forms. Shinnosuke Harada’s Taba lamp resembles a bound sheaf of igusa. Each of the bundle’s many strands has an uneven structure created by dripping the igusa and cellulose acetate compound from the 3D printer’s nozzle. Emanating light is softly diffused by the translucent material and filtered through the gaps between the bundled strands. Using the same dripping technique, Kazuki Fujiwara layers twine-like threads of material into a loose basket weave that stretches over his Ami stool and matching lampshade.

Kohshi, the last and smallest of the Refab works, is an unusual flower stand. Jointly designed by Harada and Tochigi, its three-dimensional square lattice provides an architectural frame in which plant stems or branches can be slotted and arranged in multiple ways.

Cutting edges

Tatami production offcuts — the loose-strand edges of woven sheets of igusa — are not easy materials to repurpose into new products. Two tatami makers, however, have found that simply rolling them into different shapes can produce attractive items that remind users of igusa’s benefits.

The naturally aromatic Tatminomimi room deodorizer is made from rolls of tatami offcuts by Matsuba Tatami in Shizuoka Prefecture. | COURTESY OF COZYIN / UN-KNOT
The naturally aromatic Tatminomimi room deodorizer is made from rolls of tatami offcuts by Matsuba Tatami in Shizuoka Prefecture. | COURTESY OF COZYIN / UN-KNOT

The Tataminomimi (¥1,210), produced by Matsuba Tatami, takes advantage of igusa’s grassy aroma. Its tightly rolled offcuts become standing, brush-like air fresheners. The design, creatively directed by Keita Hanazawa of Un-knot, is one of several new products released on Cozyin, a new online store promoting the work of Suruga Creative, a group of young Shizuoka Prefecture-based artisans who are rethinking traditional crafts with contemporary design.

In a similar fashion, Sasaki Tatami, in Oita Prefecture, recycles its offcuts into Tatamitasu, a set of children’s building blocks that doubles as a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe game. The offcuts, which are trimmed into neat strips before being rolled into circles and crosses, are flexible, tactile and aromatic, and its antibacterial properties make it safe for kids. As an extra playful detail, the cylindrical blocks can also be pushed out from the center to form cones. Tatamitasu (from ¥16,500) was launched as a crowdfunding project late last year and is now available via Sasaki Tatami’s online store.

Sasaki Tatami in Oita Prefecture recycles the offcuts of its tatami into sets of naturally scented and antibacterial children’s blocks. | COURTESY OF SASAKI TATAMI
Sasaki Tatami in Oita Prefecture recycles the offcuts of its tatami into sets of naturally scented and antibacterial children’s blocks. | COURTESY OF SASAKI TATAMI