Leif.designpark has made everything from furniture and interior designs to artwork and has displayed their work at exhibits around the world, including the Saloni Milano in Italy. They work diligently on their designs while working directly with the raw components. Just how exactly did they take tatami, a traditional Japanese material, and turn it into a yoga mat? We asked Keizaburo HONDA of Leif.designpark:

“I heard from TATAMO! creative director Haruaki TANAKA and he asked ‘Can you make anything out of soft rush straw?’ I was really happy to design something with that material which is used in tatami mats. I decided to take the job because I like traditional Japanese-style rooms and I personally have quite an affection for tatami.”

Honda became a part of the TATAMO! Project at a very early phase. At that point meetings included not only the project representatives such as tatami store owner Kazuki MOMOSE and soft rush straw farmer Sei SONODA, but also Honda as well and together they hashed out and conceived a product that would fit the TATAMO! vision. Honda recalled what a great experience it was that the straw farmer was in touch with him from the beginning:

“Up until that point, I’d worked on many projects where I was able to talk with the person in charge but it was very rare to be able to meet with the person who produced the actual materials. Being able to communicate back and forth with Sonoda was refreshing and I really learned a lot from the experience. When we were discussing what should be the initial TATAMO! product, I learned that they were already producing tatami mat covers and planned to use these materials to eventually create a number of products. What we ended up deciding was that the best initial product would be one that was durable and could stand the test of time,” says Honda.

The TATAMO! Project uses soft rush straw that is shorter than 94cm, which is too short for standard tatami mats and so is typically just disposed of. Our goal was to create a green product using this straw produced in Japan. There were apparently suggestions that the initial product should be a placemat or bath mat, however with the future in mind it was decided that it would be best to first release a product that would really test the durability of the tatami, and then expand the product line based on the results; thus we went with the yoga mat.

Once the decision was made to produce and sell the TATAMO! yoga mat, Leif.designpark and Sonoda discussed many things related to the tatami such as the weave, color, and pattern.

“One of the first samples Sonoda showed me was the meseki weave tatami cover. The meseki weave has a tight mesh and so that allows for a thicker cover than usual. The shadowed and non-shadowed portions of the cover are clear to the eye and so part of the tatami appears to be floating on the surface. That particular weave was quite beautiful and definitely left an impression, in the end we all agreed to go with the meseki weave,” recalls Honda.

It’s hard to see the final product and not be surprised by its beautiful color. It’s not widely known, but soft rush straw can be dyed a variety of colors like black, red, yellow, and even some bright colors where at first glance you wouldn’t even recognize it as soft rush straw. Starting with around 20 different colors of dyed samples, we narrowed those down to a just a few that would best fit the TATAMO! yoga mat. In the end, a total of six different color combinations were approved, with each combination available in two different styles.

“While there are existing products that are made from dyed soft brush straw, they don’t typically leave nearly as strong of an impression as ours. From the very beginning of the TATAMO! Project, we were all of the same mind that we really wanted one of the product’s key points to be its gorgeous color. However, I was worried about how we were going bring the colors to life on the thicker meseki weave, and I was particularly concerned about the ribbon that would be used around the edge of the mat,” admits Honda.

“There are two different design styles of the TATAMO! yoga, in one design the mat’s two colors are split evenly across the mat (the 1:1 ratio mat), and in the other one color takes up 75% of the mat space while the other color occupies 25% (the 1:3 ratio mat). We paid special attention to keeping the lines on these mats perpendicular. I used to do tea ceremony and its etiquette strictly prohibits sitting diagonally on a tatami mat, so with that in mind we made sure to align everything on a strictly horizontal and vertical grid. This traditional practice from ancient Japan is also a part of the TATAMO! yoga design. Another reason for these ratios is that when someone is doing yoga on the mat, it’s easier to concentrate on your center of gravity and the position of your head when focusing on the mat’s color divider. In this way, the separation of the two colors serves as marker that may be useful in making yoga poses.”

Through a long process of repeated trial and error, Leif.designpark eventually developed six color combinations as well as three edge ribbons that took full advantage of TATAMO!'s natural materials as well as the inherent beauty of the mat. And thus, a never before seen all-natural yoga mat was born.

Since yoga mats are used repeatedly for exercise, durability and comfort were of the utmost importance. In the testing phase, weights were put on the mat and then we’d add friction. On top of this, an actual yoga instructor sampled the mat as well.

“When we’d reached the stage where we had an actual mat, I tried doing some yoga on it myself and it felt nice. But I’m still just a beginner at yoga so to get a more accurate opinion I asked a yoga instructor I know to give it a try. He tried out various yoga poses and assured me that it was indeed comfortable. Users have said they find our mat more relaxing than regular yoga mats because when they walk on it barefoot it feels like an actual tatami mat, and they can smell the aroma of the soft rush straw,” explains Honda.

“One thing about the mat that we’d like to improve is that it’s not as thick as other mats available on the market and so it can slide easily when used on floors. Based on this fact, we asked Sonoda to try and make the tatami cover as thick as he possibly could. We tried applying something to reduce the sliding, but as we are using all-natural materials for this product we weren’t able to find a one-size-fits-all solution. However, for customers who are interested, we are producing a specially-designed slip-reduction mat,” says Honda.

The soft rush straw used in the TATAMO! yoga, grown on Sonoda’s farm, is thicker than most, with a nice fragrance, not to mention its very long lifespan. It is a high-quality material that is suitable for tatami mats even at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples ? TATAMO! is the perfect companion to the ancient art of yoga. However, there are many varieties of yoga and not everyone practicing it is necessarily looking for the exact same thing. We feel that the TATAMO! yoga is an ideal mat for those looking for an especially relaxing workout where they can take in the spring of the mat as well as the aroma of soft rush straw.

“I’d love it if people outside of Japan used the TATAMO! yoga as well. TATAMO!'s yoga and floor products were displayed at the “Trans-i +” exhibit, part of the Rebirth Project, held at Pass the Baton in Omotesando Hills. There were a number of rush straw items there but ours stood out. Some people were so surprised they couldn’t even figure out what our products were made out of at first glance. We have such a novel product that it doesn’t really bother me if people want to use it as something other than a yoga mat,” says Honda.

Perhaps tatami, traditionally limited to Japan, will become a widely known material around the world as people adapt it to their needs. It may not be long before people from many different age groups and countries are taking advantage of TATAMO! yoga.