Mitsuru

Born in Tokyo in 1978, Mitsuru is a First Class certified tatami craftsman based in Kyoto. While living in Australia, he felt a desire to reconnect to his home country and to transmit his culture to the world. He wanted something for himself that no one could take away from him, which manifested as a traditional skill.

Mitsuru moved to Kyoto to study tatami making. Traditional tatami shops only accepted people whose parents were in the tatami industry, whose business and skills were usually inherited. But fewer people were showing interest in learning about these traditions. Mitsuru was lucky to meet one of the heads of a tatami organization, who liked his ideas and connected him with the fourth generation of a shop which had a century-old history. Now a master artisan, Mitsuru has his own studio and hopes to be the first generation of his own family lineage.

Mitsuru has made tatami flooring and products for clients across the globe, and regularly collaborates with international interior designers/furniture designers. He has partnered with Lauren Hadler, Founder and Creative Director of Hyde, and the director of the Kyotographie International Photography Festival in order to take his works to those interested in contemporary traditions. He is engaged with Dutch Designer Mae Engelgeer for a show held in Japan and in Milan’s Salone. He is creating a new furniture range with the French design duo LOMA which will launch in Paris; while also undertaking a table series with the Italian designer, Denis Guidone.

Mitsuru has worked on a huge variety of projects, including tatami for a number of renowned temples and for the G7 Summit held at Ise Shrine. Awarded Kyoto City Government Award (2012), and the 83rd Kyoto Tatami Competition (2013) by Kyoto Prefecture, he has exhibited at Kyotographie in 2017, 2018 and 2019, has participated in Kyoto Contemporary, Paris in 2017 and 2018, as well as Maison Objet, Paris in 2018, 2019, and 2020.