Press & Media

Tatamino is a small family workshop in Kumamoto, Japan, rethinking four generations of tatami craft for the modern table. We're glad to work with writers, editors, podcasters, and stylists.

Contact

Tetsuya Kawanabe (founder)
hello@tatamino.net
Instagram: @tatamino.japan

Brand story — one paragraph

Tatamino is a small workshop on the edge of Kumamoto, Japan, where four generations have been weaving tatami by hand. Founded by Tetsuya Kawanabe in 2026, the brand rethinks Japan's oldest floor covering as pieces for the modern table — handwoven placemats, coasters, and trays made from a contemporary tatami fiber that is washable, color-fast, and built for daily use.

Brand story — 150 words

Tatamino rethinks Japan's oldest floor covering for the way we live now.

Founded in 2026 by fourth-generation tatami artisan Tetsuya Kawanabe, the brand was born in a family workshop on the edge of Kumamoto that has been weaving tatami for close to a century. Tetsuya grew up watching tatami rooms disappear from Japanese homes, replaced by hardwood and carpet. Tatamino is his answer — the material he learned from his father, made small enough to live on a desk, a dining table, a bedside.

Instead of traditional igusa rush grass, Tatamino uses a modern tatami fiber developed in Japan for durability. The weave is the same. The hand-bound edges are the same. But the pieces are washable, color-fast, and built to withstand the wine, the coffee, the two a.m. glass of water.

Every piece is hand-made by one person, in small batches, from a single workshop.

Fact sheet

  • Founded: 2026 (Kumamoto, Japan)
  • Founder: Tetsuya Kawanabe (4th-generation tatami artisan)
  • Workshop: Family-owned since ~1930, Kumamoto City
  • Production: Hand-made by one person, in small batches
  • Material: Modern tatami fiber (plant-based synthetic, woven on traditional tatami looms)
  • Origin: 100% made in Japan; fiber sourced from Okayama, woven and finished in Kumamoto
  • Price range: $35 (coaster set) – $65 (wallet)
  • Shipping: Worldwide; US 5–8 days via DHL Express / Japan Post EMS
  • Categories: Placemats · Coasters · Trays · Wallets · Gifts
  • Care: Wipe-clean, fully washable, heat-safe to 250°F / 120°C
  • Sustainability: Vegan, long-life product with free lifetime repairs, small-batch production
  • Online: tataminoworld.com · @tatamino.japan

Founder bio

Tetsuya Kawanabe is a fourth-generation tatami artisan and the founder of Tatamino. Born into a family workshop on the edge of Kumamoto, Japan that has been weaving tatami since before the Second World War, Tetsuya learned the craft from his father, who learned it from his own father before him.

After watching tatami rooms quietly disappear from modern Japanese homes, Tetsuya started Tatamino in 2026 to apply the traditional weaving craft to a new scale of object — pieces small enough to live on a desk, a dining table, a bedside. Using a modern tatami fiber developed in Japan for durability, he produces placemats, coasters, trays, and wallets by hand in small batches, one at a time. He still lives and works in the same workshop his great-grandfather opened nearly a hundred years ago.

Samples & reviews

We're happy to send product samples to verified writers and editors. Please include the publication and a specific piece you're considering, and we'll respond within 2 business days.

Press kit assets

High-resolution product and workshop photography is available on request. Email hello@tatamino.net for a Google Drive link with current shots.