Chasen No. 118 · Dark Kurotake, 54 Tines · Koicha

Reserved — held for exhibition, not currently for sale. Email us and we'll let you know if it's released.

Naturally dark (kurotake) bamboo · black thread · around 54 sturdy straight tines · one of a kind

Naturally dark black bamboo (kurotake) with around 54 straight, sturdy outer tines, set wide apart in a clean open sunburst. The lower count and heavier gauge are deliberate: this is a whisk built to knead a thick koicha without splaying. Arrives in its wooden presentation box.

Hand-cut from a single piece of bamboo in Takayama, Nara — the district that has made Japan's tea whisks for five centuries. We spent three days there going workshop to workshop; four artisans agreed to sell to us, several met through the town's chasen museum where the makers gather. One of a kind — we have only this piece.

Five years from standing bamboo to the first cut, then split by hand tine by tine with a single blade. Why a Takayama chasen costs what it does →

Care: rest on a whisk holder (kusenaoki), rinse in warm water only, air-dry. Never soak or machine-wash.