DESIGN

Kokontozai: KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts —【Hanagoza Sleeping Mat】

『カーサブルータス』2024年9月号より

September 8, 2024 | Design | KASHIYUKA’s Shop of Japanese Arts and Crafts | photo_Keisuke Fukamizu editor_Masae Wako hair & make-up_Masako Osuga translation_ Mika Yoshida & David G. Imber

Searching all of Japan for handcrafted items that express its heart and soul, our proprietor, KASHIYUKA, presents things that bring a bit of luxury to everyday life. Her voyage lands her this time in Yanagawa, Fukuoka prefecture, where she comes across hanagoza; small mats woven with the same rushes of which tatami are made, dyed in lovely colors.

Visiting Matsumasa in Yanagawa city, Fukuoka prefecture. Dyed igusa, rush grass, is lined up against the clay wall. “It smells like tatami mats,” says our project’s shopkeeper, KASHIYUKA. The igusa is from Yatsushiro, Kumamoto prefecture, and the dying is done by artisans in Fukuoka. Matsumasa sees to the design, the weaving, and processing.

I love the feel of tatami mats and their refreshing fragrance. But I’d thought it very difficult to incorporate tatami into a contemporary lifestyle. It was then I looked into hanagozaa, woven from the same igusa rush grass used in making traditional tatami. I could see these being very appropriate for modern homes and apartments.

“Hanagoza mats have a history reaching back 1400 years. The oldest example in Japan was used by Empress Suiko [593 – 628 CE]. That very one has been handed down through history and is preserved today at Horin-ji temple in Kyoto. There are air passages that you can see in the cross-section of the igusa plant. These control moisture, and as a result, igusa doesn’t retain heat, making it perfect for a summertime mat,” explains Mr. Matsunaga Masaharu, president of Matsumasa, founded in 1947 in Yanagawa, Fukuoka prefecture.

Purchase No. 76【Hanagoza Sleeping Mat】A summer mat woven of rush grass bringing a nostalgic fragrance to everyday life.

“The characteristic feature of hanagoza is that the igusa grass rushes are dyed, then woven together in a variety of patterns. The igusa, which is grown in mineral-rich soil, undergoes a preliminary base dye of mud. Dying in mud first prevents unevenness in the dye later, and it brings out the distinctive fragrance of the rushes.”