TANGO TANIMURA CHASEN BLACK BAMBOO

The 500-year-old art of chasen, or “tea whisks” from Takayama, Nara.
One house of chasen masters, the Tanimura family has upheld this intricate art for five centuries.

The Tanimura family is devoted to making sturdy and easy-to-use chasen.
Easy usage is defined by elastic and flexible tips, while sturdiness refers to the whisks’ durability.

However, these two elements seem to contradict each other. In order to create flexible tips, the wood needs to be cut very thinly, but the thinner the wood, the less durable it becomes.
Maintaining a meticulous balance between these two elements is the secret to the art that the Tanimura family has honed for more than half a millennium. “Art” is indeed the right word, because this process of creating balance, for which Tango Tanimura relies solely on the intricate feeling in his fingertips, cannot rightfully be called anything else.