Igusa is the soft rush used to make tatami, and it is what gives a Japanese room its smell. Woven into a pillow it does something a cotton cover cannot: it stays cool, moves air, and carries a faint grassy scent that fades over the first few weeks.

Two shapes. The flat pillow sits low and suits back sleepers, or anyone who finds most pillows too tall. The square one is firmer and higher, and doubles as a floor cushion for reading or sitting at a low table.

Both are made in Japan and are at their best in summer, when a cotton pillow starts to feel warm by the middle of the night.