Tatami Surface Material
Tatami Surface (Tatami Omote) is made from weaving high quality ‘Igusa’ rush grass. One Tatami mat contains between 4000 to 7000 rush grass stems. Tatami edge cloth (Tatami Heri) is the cloth attached to the Tatami mat edge. There are many colors, patterns and materials. There are also mats with no edge cloth (Ryukyu Style). Tatami Base (Tatami Toko) is made from a substrate such as traditionally it was made by natural rice straw or others
Japan Igusa blooms from May through June. The plant grows up to a length of 100cm or less. They grow in marshes where sunshine is good. In Japan, there are 30 kinds of igusa growing in many different areas. Tatami is made from natural igusa that must be flexible from the root to the tip, and the thickness and the color varies slightly. Generally the best tatami uses more and longer igusa rushes. There are many benefits in using igusa such as air purification, heat insulation, elasticity, cooling (especially in hot summer seasons), eco-friendly and sound absorbing qualities.
Plastic tatami mat is a new type of tatami developed in Japan that delivers modern-day functional performance while retaining the authentic texture and feel of all-natural mat rush. It is ideal for children and elderly people. It is a unique product made from traditional mat rush together with a specially developed plastic containing iroganic calcium. The advanced plastic component of it mimics the structure of natural mat fiber. It will not fade or discolor, resists staining from liquids, resists splitting and has increased resistance to mold and mites.
Traditionally, Tatami surface covered with woven Igusa (Rush straw). However, Tatami made of Igusa have some disadvantages such as causing discoloration, abrasion and tick exposure. One of the new developed material of Tatami is using Japanese wover paper. This surface has high performance which is include resistance to ticks, mold, climate, water and abrasion. This washi Japanese paper is traditional paper of Japan. Rolled thin paper woven with cotton thread or hemp fiber. There is no smell. The color doesn’t discolor. Durability is three times higher than the grass material. Water is shed because it has water-repellent processed it.