Chasen (matcha whisk) by Suikaen

We’ve been taking our time to find the right chasen and we’re delighted to bring the beautiful hand-crafted work of Suikaen Takayama Chasen to our shop.

Made in Takyama, Japan by 25th generation chasen master Yasaburo Tanimura and his wife Kay. Their chasen are made from hand harvested bamboo that is seasoned for three years before being selected to become a handmade whisk.

Each Kazuho style chasen takes over 1 hour to make and involves 7 steps:

片木(Hegi): peel one-third of the bamboo skin and divide it into 16 equal parts. Then separate  skin and endodermis each of the parts, and cut out the endodermis.

小割(Kowari): divide 1 mm divided into 0.4 and 0.6.

味削り(Ajikezuri): Make the all bristles thinner just like your hair. 

面取り(Mentori): Shave the edge each of the bristles to round off the corners.

下編み(Shitaami): Separate inner(0.4mm) and outer(0.6mm) bristles alternately with a thread.

上編み(Uwaami): To keep the shape of the Chasen, knit the inner and outer bristles twice.

仕上げ(Shiage): Arrange the each of the bristles to make beautiful shape.