Cutting-edge Equipment Used to Gather Straw For Traditional Floor Mats

Footage taken on July 6, 2016, show farmers in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan,using specialized equipment to gather and prepare rush straw for making tatami mats--the flooring material found in traditional Japanese rooms. The straw is harvested in the early morning to preserve its greenish color from the sun and is then brought to a facility where it is sprayed with cool water before being dunked in a mud pool prior to drying. The Yatsushiro region is the country’s largest single source of rush straw for mats.