Matsuba Tatami

Founded in 1977, the current owner, Sakae Matsuba, trained intensively for five years at a well-established tatami shop in Shizuoka City before setting up his own business in Yaizu City. In order to communicate the comfort of tatami, a traditional aspect of Japanese culture, he creates everyday goods and interior products using "Igusa" (Japanese rush) and a fabric known as a "tatami-beri" (tatami ribbon), which resembles a belt and is attached to the edges of tatami mats.

Carrying the nostalgic scent of igusa into the future

While 80% of the igusa used in tatami mats domestically is imported from China, Matsuba Tatami sources its carefully selected igusa from farmers in Kumamoto Prefecture. Igusa, the main material of tatami mats, is grown in paddies just like rice, and it takes approximately one year and seven months to harvest, starting from the seedling stage.

The pleasantly dry touch of igusa, the visually appealing color contrast of new tatami, its healing scent and its borders - all these elements along with the dry rustling sound that reaches your ears when you roll over on it, contribute to the experience of Matsuba Tatami's products. In modern Japan, fewer people come into contact with tatami, but Matsuba Tatami creates products that deliver moments of peacefulness and a space of comfort, allowing people to feel nature within this coziness.