mt
Japanese washi masking tape from Kurashiki, Okayama — 100 years of adhesive technology, loved by the world.
mt is a washi masking tape brand by KAMOI KAKOSHI CO., LTD., established in 1923 in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. For nearly 80 years, Kamoi Kakoshi was a specialist industrial adhesive tape manufacturer — supplying tape for construction, automotive painting and industrial applications. In 2006, the brand discovered its industrial masking tape had attracted a devoted community of craft users, and launched the "mt" consumer line specifically for art, stationery, wrapping and decoration. The result was a product category that grew into a global phenomenon: washi tape. Made from washi (Japanese paper), mt tape is translucent, writable, repositionable and available in hundreds of patterns — from solid colors and geometric prints to artist collaborations with international designers.
PROFILE Company & Brand Story
KAMOI KAKOSHI was established in 1923 in Kurashiki, Okayama — a city known for its textile and craft heritage. For nearly eight decades, the company operated as a specialist industrial adhesive tape manufacturer: making tape for automotive masking, construction painting, and industrial processes. The expertise accumulated in these applications — adhesive chemistry, paper substrate engineering, clean release behavior — was deep and specific.
In 2006, the company discovered something unexpected: visitors to a trade show exhibition were not professional purchasing managers, but craft enthusiasts and artists who had been buying the industrial masking tape because it was repositionable, writable on, and made from washi — and they were using it to decorate notebooks, frames and wrapping paper. This discovery prompted Kamoi Kakoshi to launch the "mt" consumer line.
The mt tape that went to market in 2008 was based directly on the industrial product but developed with craft users in mind: refined adhesive behavior, expanded patterns and colors, and an accessible retail format. The washi base material gives mt tape its defining qualities: semi-translucency (patterns visible through it), a matte paper texture that accepts ink and pencil, and a gentle adhesive that repositions cleanly without tearing most surfaces.
The adhesive technology behind mt tape represents a century of Kamoi Kakoshi's development. Industrial masking tape requires adhesive that bonds securely but releases cleanly, leaves no residue, and maintains performance across temperature and humidity ranges. These requirements — far more demanding than typical consumer tape — are what give mt tape its reputation for consistent, professional behavior in craft applications.
mt has grown into a global brand with collaborations that span the arts and design world: minä perhonen, William Morris Archive, Dick Bruna (Miffy), and international museums. The mt CASA line extends the product into interior decoration — large-format washi tape for walls, furniture and surfaces. mt products are sold in stationery, art and lifestyle stores worldwide, and the brand has become virtually synonymous with washi tape as a category.
Washi translucency — Japanese paper quality in tape form
mt tape is made from washi (Japanese paper): semi-translucent, with a matte texture that accepts ink, pencil and markers. Patterns remain visible through overlapping layers. The paper base gives mt tape a quality and character that plastic-based decorative tapes cannot replicate.
100 years of adhesive technology — industrial grade in craft form
Kamoi Kakoshi's adhesive expertise was developed over a century of industrial tape manufacturing for automotive and construction applications. The adhesive behind mt tape bonds securely, repositions without tearing most surfaces, and releases without residue — industrial-grade performance requirements expressed in a consumer craft product.
World designer collaborations — minä perhonen, William Morris, Dick Bruna
mt has developed collaborative tape designs with internationally recognized artists and design archives: minä perhonen, William Morris Archive, Dick Bruna (Miffy) and others. These collaborations bring art world aesthetics into an accessible, functional everyday object — a washi tape that is also a collectible edition.
PRODUCTS Featured Products & Services
mt 8P Solid Color Set — Washi Masking Tape, Made in Japan
An 8-roll set of mt solid-color washi tape in coordinated tones. Semi-translucent, writable surface, repositionable adhesive. The standard entry point to the mt collection — suitable for journaling, wrapping, and decoration.
View Detailsmt ex Encyclopedia Series — Pattern Washi Tape Collection
mt's encyclopedia series: detailed illustrative patterns inspired by botanical prints, maps and reference books. Intricate designs on washi tape for sophisticated decorative use in journals, gifts and art projects.
View Detailsmt CASA — Wide Washi Tape for Interior Decoration
The mt CASA line extends washi tape to interior applications: wider tapes designed for walls, furniture, doors and surfaces. Repositionable, removable without damage to painted surfaces. Available in solid colors and large-scale patterns.
View Detailsmt wrap — Washi Paper Wrapping Roll
mt wrap is a washi paper roll in mt patterns for gift wrapping. Lightweight, semi-translucent, recyclable. Turns everyday gift wrapping into a design statement without adhesive tape.
View Detailsmt Remake Sheet — Repositionable Washi Adhesive Sheet
Large-format repositionable washi adhesive sheets for covering books, surfaces and furniture. Apply, reposition, remove — no residue on most surfaces. Available in mt patterns and solid colors.
View DetailsMEDIA Media, Awards & Initiatives
- mt is recognized internationally as the brand that created the washi tape craft category. The brand is regularly featured in stationery, journaling, scrapbooking and craft media worldwide as the original and reference standard for washi masking tape.
- mt's collaborations with minä perhonen, William Morris Archive and other design institutions have been covered by design and art publications as a model for how functional everyday products can be elevated through serious design partnership.