Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug by Hana Mitsui is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Bronze A' Design Award in Textile, Fabric, Textures, Patterns and Cloth Design Competition Category.
BronzeTextile· 2025
Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug
by Hana Mitsui
Client: Hana Material Design Laboratory inc.
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Textile Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #170574The Design
About Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug
Hana Mitsui reinterprets traditional Japanese tatami weaving through a pixelated Mona Lisa made with Igusa grass. Working with tatami craftspeople, she explores how this time-honored material can engage with present-day visual language. By noticing the visual similarity between tatami’s weave and digital pixel grids, Mitsui developed a method to express subtle tones through tactile, pixel-like forms. The result highlights a quiet dialogue between tradition and modern perspective.Her practice reflects an ongoing interest in translating cultural heritage into new visual expressions.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Where to Get It
Contemporary Japanese Textile Art
We revitalize traditional Japanese materials through innovative design research. Our laboratory collaborates with master craftspeople to transform heritage techniques like tatami weaving into contemporary art pieces. Each creation preserves cultural knowledge while exploring new visual expressions.
Learn MoreInterviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative fusion of traditional Japanese tatami weaving with digital pixel art in the Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug represents a striking bridge between heritage and modernity - could you elaborate on how this creative connection first sparked in your mind?
The idea emerged through my visits to igusa production sites and conversations with craftspeople. I became fascinated by the traditional structure of Kakegawa weaving, which is composed of small repeated units that almost resemble digital pixels.Although the weaving structure itself is very old, it appeared surprisingly modern to me.That observation led to a very simple idea: if we used this traditional structure to reproduce an image that everyone recognizes, perhaps it would look as though the image had been digitally broken down into pixels.The concept itself is quite straightforward, but by choosing the Mona Lisa—one of the most iconic images in the world—the traditional weaving structure became much more visually striking.
The dramatic decline of Japan's Igusa grass cultivation to just one-twentieth of its peak clearly influenced the Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug - how does this work aim to preserve and revitalize this precious cultural heritage for future generations?
The decline of igusa production is a very complex issue, and I do not believe it is something that one designer can solve alone.Rather than seeing this work itself as the answer, I hope that Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug can serve as a starting point—something that encourages more people to think about the future of igusa and its possibilities.Designers, craftspeople, companies, and users can each approach the material from their own perspective and ask how igusa might be used in contemporary life.If this work can become even a small trigger for that kind of thinking and action, then I believe it has meaning.For me, preserving tradition is not simply about protecting the past. It is about reconsidering how a material can remain relevant in the present, and through that process, carrying its knowledge and techniques into the future.
What specific technical challenges did you encounter when translating the iconic Mona Lisa into the pixel-like weave structure of the Pixel Weave Monalisa Rug, and how did your collaboration with traditional tatami craftspeople help overcome these obstacles?
Weaving with igusa involves many restrictions that are quite different from those of conventional textiles.For example, there is a fixed size for each woven unit, which effectively determines the size of the “pixel,” and the structure used for this work allows only six colors.Within those limitations, we repeatedly tested different combinations of colors and weave structures to find ways of expressing the Mona Lisa’s shadows and facial features.We produced many small samples and adjusted the combinations step by step together with the craftspeople.By carefully controlling how the six colors interacted, we were able to create the perception of a much broader tonal range.The work was not something I designed independently and then simply asked the craftspeople to reproduce. It developed gradually through an ongoing dialogue with people who deeply understand the structure and characteristics of the material.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Transforming traditional Japanese tatami weaving, I set out to explore new possibilities for Igusa grass.
I noticed a compelling visual similarity between the geometric patterns of tatami and the pixel grid of digital imagery. Inspired by this connection, I developed a weaving technique using Igusa grass that captures painterly impressions through pixel-like expressions.
By carefully blending the natural hues of Igusa, the image of the world-renowned Mona Lisa emerges—subtle, tactile, and reimagined through a uniquely Japanese material language.
The strength of this design lies in its ability to present tatami an everyday, familiar presence in Japanese life from a fresh perspective, refracted through the iconic gaze of the Mona Lisa.
It reveals the untapped potential within our daily surroundings, reminding us that even the most ordinary materials can be transformed into something artistic and profound. - Dimensions & Packaging
- Dimensions: 1,760 mm (W) × 880 mm (H) × 5 mm (D)
- Tags
- Weave, Textile, Pixel, Craft, Rug, Art, Mona Lisa, Igusa grass, Tatami
- Production Technology
- This piece was produced using the same specialized machines used to weave traditional Japanese Tatami and Goza mats. Japan has unique looms specifically designed for Igusa, and these were essential in bringing this design to life. As the Igusa industry is a small, closed circle, collaborations with designers are rare, making this a new creative challenge for the artisans involved.
After choosing the Mona Lisa as the motif, I created a pixelated version and worked closely with the craftspeople to translate it into a weave structure. We exchanged data many times to adjust the pattern, then programmed the loom for production. Since Igusa is resistant to dye, the finished piece was coated to fix the colors. Through many stages, this design was carefully crafted into a new expression of Igusa. - Design Challenge
- This project marked my first experience working with Igusa weaving.
Since Igusa is typically used for everyday household items, creating a large-scale jacquard weave for an artwork like this is quite rare.
Collaborating closely with skilled artisans, I carefully considered the weave structure and color combinations, aiming to achieve maximum expression within the technical limitations of the material.
At the same time, I also focused on ensuring the functionality of the piece as a rug, designing the weave with strength and durability in mind.
This design is the result of merging my background in textile design with newly acquired knowledge of Igusa—bringing together both experience and experimentation in a truly integrated way. - Research
- Colorfully dyed Igusa mats woven with the Kakegawa-ori technique represent a rare and refined tradition, even within Japan. In recent years, however, many younger generations are unaware of the existence of such vibrant tatami, and the craft itself is at risk of fading into obscurity.
Having grown up in a home without tatami, I had little familiarity with it. It wasn’t until a work trip to Fukuoka that I encountered Kakegawa-ori in daily use. I was deeply moved by the beauty of this weaving method seamlessly integrated into everyday life, and at the same time, I felt a strong sense of loss and urgency in realizing how this cultural heritage is gradually disappearing.
This experience inspired me to launch the project, with the aim of reintroducing the value and beauty of this technique to a wider audience. I selected the Mona Lisa as the central motif because it is an iconic image recognized by virtually everyone, even those with no particular interest in art. It naturally captures attention, and its pixelated form retains a clear visual identity—making it especially well-suited to this method of expression.
The work succeeded in drawing attention at the exhibition, encouraging many viewers to engage with this traditional craft from a fresh perspective. - Inspiration
- This work was born out of a deep sense of urgency around the rapid decline of Japan’s Igusa culture.
Traditionally used in tatami mats suited to Japan’s humid climate, Igusa grass has seen a dramatic decrease in demand due to modern lifestyle changes, with farms now reduced to just one-twentieth of their peak.
To keep this heritage material alive for future generations, I sought to reframe Igusa in a contemporary context bridging traditional craftsmanship with digital aesthetics to explore new, sustainable possibilities for this time-honored material. - Project Duration
- The project began in Fukuoka, Japan in September 2024 and was completed in December 2024.
It was also showcased at a major design event, DESIGNTIDE TOKYO, held in Tokyo in December 2024. - Operation Flow
- This piece is an art rug made using traditional Japanese tatami techniques. Though it may look like a digital image, it is handwoven entirely from natural Igusa grass. The portrait of the Mona Lisa appears through pixel-like colored squares—abstract up close, but clear from a distance. It requires no special operation and can be used freely as a floor mat or wall piece. The natural texture and scent blend tradition with contemporary design.
- Patents
- [Copyrights : Hana Mitsui,2025]
- Image Credits
- [ Image#1,2,3,4 and 5 : Photographer:Naoaki Yokota]
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