Interview
From “plain black or brown” to colorful tatami edging
I heard that Takata Orimono was the first to make patterned tatami edging.
Takada (honorific omitted)
At one time, there were around 100 manufacturers of tatami edging.
But for quite a long time, all 100 companies kept making nothing but “plain tatami edging made of black and brown cotton.”
That meant customers would only look for the lowest price, so we wanted to differentiate ourselves from other companies.
In the late 1950s, Takata Orimono became the first in the tatami industry to develop patterned tatami edging.
From a mere accessory material to a value-added product.
We wanted to reposition tatami edging as “something with design appeal that influences the atmosphere of a room.”
Gradually, other companies began making patterned products as well.
I think tatami edging today is positioned as a design-oriented product that makes people think, “I’d like to use this kind of tatami edging, even if I have to pay a little more.”
Why was tatami edging once almost always plain black or brown?
Takada
I think tatami craftsmen believed that “black and brown are enough.”
Even when we developed a product and delivered sample books to tatami shops, the shops would say, “You can’t use something like that,” and wouldn’t show them to end users—the people who actually choose and use tatami.
That’s why people didn’t know about them.
So even though you made them, they never reached the public.
Takada
That’s right.
I think there are two approaches to making things.
One is making something because we want to, a product that challenges the industry’s values and pushes boundaries.
The other is a product developed through marketing to meet customer needs.
There was no customer demand for tatami edging in the first place.
Even today, not many people know they can choose their tatami edging.
The price of tatami is determined by the tatami surface and core.
People tend to think, “The cheaper the tatami edging, the better.”
But it’s not as if carefully crafted, higher-priced tatami edging is never accepted.
Customers respond positively, and some do use it.
So we changed how we promoted it.
If tatami shops found it difficult to show customers the sample books, we decided to show them directly to the people further down the line.
We exhibited at trade shows and sent sample books directly by mail to architectural firms, construction companies, and interior coordinators.
People began to learn about us little by little, saying, “I didn’t know tatami edging like this existed. It’s lovely.”
People also began specifically requesting our tatami edging.
Making tatami shops happy, too: the directly operated FLAT store
Did the business grow smoothly?
Takada
Tatami shops strongly objected, saying, “Stop making new products.”
By custom in the tatami industry, the minimum order for standard tatami edging is one roll, enough for ten tatami mats.
If a shop uses an unusual type of edging, there are shipping and handling costs, and if one household only needs enough for six mats, ordering one roll leaves enough for four mats unused.
Also, tatami was sold at a set price per mat, so changing the edging didn’t change the selling price.
That meant that if the price of the edging they bought went up, the tatami shops’ profits went down.
For tatami shops, recommending good tatami edging meant customers were happy, but the shops themselves lost money. That put them in a difficult position.
The reason was that, at the time, tatami edging wasn’t seen as a value-added product that satisfied customers or as a product that could generate profit.
Some might say, “It’s fine if the end users are happy.”
But I thought we had to make sure our partners, the tatami shops, could properly charge for their work.
That’s why we opened FLAT, a directly operated store where end users could see tatami edging.
Connecting end users with tatami edging
So the directly operated store was also created with tatami shops in mind.
Takada
End users only have a few opportunities to replace their tatami.
Generally, after five years, the tatami surface is flipped over and the reverse side is used for another five years, so the surface lasts about ten years in total.
Even if a household has one six-mat room and replaces its tatami three times over a lifetime, that’s only 18 mats’ worth over a lifetime.
At that rate, awareness of tatami edging would never grow.
Also, no matter how valuable and appealing the tatami edging we make is to customers, we can’t feel good about making it if tatami shops don’t want to show it to them.
Until then, tatami edging had only been “valuable when attached to tatami.” But I wondered if we could propose that tatami edging itself has value as a material.
I thought that if people came to recognize that “tatami edging is a woven fabric with this kind of price per unit,” tatami shops might find it easier to show it to customers.
The potential of tatami edging as a material
At FLAT, you can see tatami edging used in all kinds of ways.
Takada
We’ve long been interested in developing new uses, and have exhibited at trade shows such as the Gift Show.
Tatami edging can’t be ironed, but it creases easily. It can’t be washed, but it’s woven with thread that doesn’t absorb water easily.
Since it’s used underfoot, it’s durable.
It can be used for things like accessories that don’t need to be washed.
However, people didn’t have many ideas for what to make with tatami edging that’s only 80 millimeters wide, and that was a drawback.
Kojima, where Takata Orimono is based, is a textile town. Many local people, especially seniors, have worked in sewing-machine jobs.
When we held a handmade craft contest using tatami edging for local residents, we received some incredible creations.
We also asked handicraft instructors to make items, and partnered with publishers specializing in handicrafts to publish several volumes of handmade craft books using tatami edging.
Until then, tatami edging shorter than two meters couldn’t be used for tatami and had to be thrown away.
But even pieces shorter than two meters attract customers’ interest when displayed in a shop as a material.
That’s plenty long enough to use as a material for handmade crafts.
Takada
Before long, more people started saying, “If I’d known there was tatami edging this cute, I would have chosen it for my home,” and visiting FLAT to look at edging for their own tatami.
As awareness grows, more people want to use it at home, and more people want to try using it as a material.
From various angles, we’re working to increase the value and awareness of tatami edging.
Creating pop culture
Takada
Tatami is deeply rooted in Japanese culture. It isn’t subject to trends or fads, but is something fairly timeless.
We’re aware that it has endured because it’s a good product.
Rather than seeing ourselves as preserving traditional culture, we run our business from the perspective of “creating pop culture.”
I think tatami edging is something that can give tatami value and make it something people want because it’s cute or want to try because they like it.
When we install animal-patterned tatami edging in kindergartens, the children are thrilled. We also have tatami edging for Chinese restaurants, and all sorts of other designs.
In the past, it wasn’t common for people to choose their tatami edging.
But for today’s craftsmen and architects, choosing tatami edging has become the norm.
As a result, some people find existing products insufficient, and the market for custom orders is expanding rapidly.
Collaborations and other initiatives: how to make things matters more than what to make
You’ve also made products for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Takada
We sell tatami edging and portable tatami mats.
The pattern on this tatami edging is what makes the portable tatami mat evoke the characters.
We collaborated because we wanted to spread the idea that the design appeal of tatami edging creates value—that “tatami edging itself is valuable.”
I wasn’t really aiming to capitalize on the popularity of the series. I just made it because I liked it and wanted to. But the response was huge, so I feel lucky.
Why did you take part in “Design Goals,” where creators with disabilities, designers, and companies team up to develop products?
Takata
I was interested in the product development process. I thought we could make something interesting by making use of each person’s strengths.
We use the creators’ work not because they have disabilities, but because it is excellent design.
Our products sell because customers enjoy them, and the creators receive compensation (royalties) for the use of their work. I thought making good things was a good thing to do.
What we make is important, of course, but we place even greater importance on “how we make it.”
For example, our relationships with suppliers and the working environment for our employees.
I believe that making work comfortable is essential to manufacturing in regional areas.
Engagement with the Community and Growing Awareness
Has your relationship with the community changed?
Takata
Takata Orimono is very active in social initiatives. The chairman also served for many years as president of the Kojima Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
That said, when I graduated from university and returned to Kurashiki in 2004, nobody knew about tatami edging.
Neither the government nor local residents knew about it; it was barely recognized even by Okayama Prefecture, Kurashiki City, or people in Kojima.
Even in 2014, when the Tokyo antenna shop “Tottori-Okayama Shinbashi-kan” opened, tatami edging was left out of the selection of products to be sold.
Okayama Prefecture didn’t really recognize tatami edging as one of its industries, and that was incredibly frustrating.
We managed to press our case and secure a small sales space. As a result, we made sales and gained regular customers, and now it is the best-selling product in the antenna shop.
That brought it to the attention of prefectural officials and buyers in central Tokyo, and led to many new business relationships.
Today, tatami edging is featured as a local specialty to the extent that it appears on the cover of an Okayama Prefecture promotional booklet.
Your efforts have paid off, and awareness has changed.
Takata
You could call it an upgrade of tradition, or perhaps not treating convention as an absolute. I’m the sixth generation, but I work as if I were founding the company as its sixth generation.
Kojima’s industries have repeatedly gone through cycles of prosperity and decline.
Kojima’s industry began with tabi production. When people stopped wearing tabi, the industry used those skills to make stand-up-collar uniforms, then school uniforms. As the declining birthrate reduced demand for school uniforms, the industry shifted to workwear and denim.
Denim, too, came under increasing pressure as inexpensive products from overseas gained ground, but companies have each built their own brands and taken them to the world.
The Future of Tatami Edging
Takata
Tatami edging has a long history, but I think it’s now at a turning point.
There are fewer tatami rooms and fewer people owning homes, while more Ryukyu tatami without edging are being used.
Even so, what is the purpose of making tatami? And beyond tatami edging, how can we use our narrow-width weaving skills to benefit society? I try to keep these questions in mind at all times.
We have to be flexible, and it’s important to recognize opportunities and act on them.
Unlike large companies, we don’t have a generous budget, so we need to make an impact and maximize the results.
These days, we’re increasingly pursuing initiatives centered on tatami edging itself, rather than treating it as just one part of tatami.
If those initiatives ultimately bring people back to tatami, that’s a double win.
Is it part of the company’s approach to take on new challenges?
Takata
Yes, it is.
Many of our employees take maternity and childcare leave. When they return, I hope things will have changed so much that they feel like Urashima Taro, the legendary time traveler.
When making things, we value perspectives like surprising people and making something fun.
We deliberately set out to make things that make people think, “I can’t believe something like this came out of a traditional industry.”
I don’t think manufacturing is fun without that kind of creativity.
What are your dreams or goals for the future?
Takata
By 2025, I want to raise awareness to the point where, when one in ten people in Japan is asked, “Have you heard of tatami edging?”, they don’t just say, “You mean the black stuff, right?” but instead say things like, “There are all kinds of varieties these days,” or “People use it in all sorts of ways.”
The world is in a difficult place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we had planned to exhibit at a trade show in France in February 2022. We’re also considering expanding into overseas markets such as China and Taiwan.
Tatami edging isn’t a material that sells itself, so the challenge is figuring out how to tell people about it.
Learning About Tatami Edging Is Fun
You may not give much thought to tatami edging in your daily life.
But tatami edging opens up a world that is surely more colorful and fun than you might imagine.
For the past few years, thanks to FLAT, I’ve felt that “tatami edging is really interesting.”
And through this interview, I was deeply impressed by Takata Orimono’s vision and initiatives.
It can help you create the interior you like, change your mood, or introduce you to a new material.
I’m excited about the possibilities offered by this 80-millimeter-wide woven fabric.
Take a look at the diverse world of tatami edging.
Takata Orimono Co., Ltd. Information
| Organization Name | Takata Orimono Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tatami edging manufacturer |
| Representative | Takata Hisashi |
| Year Established | 1950 |
| Address | 2-2-53 Kojima Karakoto, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-477-7162 |
| Website | Takata Orimono Co., Ltd. |
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