TAKAYAMA CHASEN | Traditional Nara TEA WHISK

It will be 70 high mountain tea whisks from Nara Prefecture, a traditional Japanese craft.

All processes are carefully handcrafted one by one by craftsmen with traditional techniques, resulting in a beautiful chasen.

It is said that there are only about 15 tea whisk craftsmen in Japan today, and the highly skilled Takayama tea whisk bends very well, making it an excellent tool for making matcha with a fine and smooth texture. It is carefully made so that it can be used for a long time.

・History of Takayama Chasen

It was born in Takayama in Ikoma, Nara Prefecture during the Muromachi period, about 500 years ago.

It is said that Takayama Minbu Jonyudo Soseki was commissioned by the tea master Juko Murata, who is said to be the originator of wabicha, to create a stirring tool suitable for the tea ceremony. After that, the Takayama tea whisk that he produced was presented to Emperor Gotsuchimikado. He was very fond of it, and along with words of praise, the Emperor gave him the name 'Koho'. Impressed, Soken worked hard to make tea whisks and improve his technique, and the manufacturing method was handed down to a son of the Takayama family. Later, when the Takayama family moved to another place, he entrusted the production of secret tea whisks to the remaining 16 vassals. I was.

・Manufacturing process

Takayama tea whisk is completed by carefully performing the following 8 processes by hand to create a beautiful and delicious matcha tea whisk.

"Haratake"

Cut bamboo that has been aged for 2-3 years into the required size. Three types of raw materials are commonly used: white bamboo, black bamboo, and soot bamboo.

"Katagi"

The first step in making the tip. Peel off the epidermis of the part that will be the tip from the upper half of the knot. And split the part that will be the tip with a kitchen knife. Although there are differences depending on the thickness of the bamboo, the standard is 120% minimum and 240% maximum.

"small split"

The process of further dividing the part that has been split with Katagi into smaller pieces. When splitting, split into large and small pieces alternately.

"Ajikuri"

The process of making the most difficult and important tip that affects the taste of matcha. Carefully scrape the tip so that the tip is thinner than the root. After that, the body side is rolled to create a shape.

"chamfer"

This is the process of shaving off both corners of the tea whisk one by one. Eliminating the corners makes it difficult for tea to adhere.

"First and second part"

In order to firmly fix the roots of the raised spikes that have been braided, the thread is doubled to perform the upper braid.

"Waist arrangement"

The process of determining the size of the chasen and arranging the height and spacing of the stems and roots.

"Finish"

The final process is to fix the disorder of the tip and adjust the shape, height and spacing to the tip.