A Muslim man sitting on a tatami prayer mat in Osaka City.
14:21 JST, May 4, 2024
A tatami prayer mat developed for Muslims is used in prayer rooms in Osaka City. The product is expected to interweave Japanese and Islamic cultures when used in the prayer hall to be established in 2025 at the Osaka-Kansai Expo site.
The mats are made by Kambe Co., a trading company in Kyoto City specializing in tatamis. The company spent four years developing the mat under the supervision of a group of Islamic experts from the city, with the aim of spreading tatami culture around the world.
Tatami prayer mats
Although fabric is a common material for prayer rugs, Kambe’s mats use washi paper that has been treated with a water-repellent coating. The 5 millimeter thin mat is 115 centimeters long and 60 centimeters wide and contains the promising checkered ichimatsu pattern.
The Japan Da’wah Center, an Islamic cultural exchange facility in Osaka City, which uses these mats, said: “We hope this can be an opportunity for exchange between Japanese and Muslims.”
