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Matcha Utensil: Kisen Chasen Shin (Takayama, Ikoma, Nara Japan)

¥5,670

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Kisen Chasen Shin (Takayama, Ikoma, Nara Japan):

This chasen is used the Urasenke school in Japanese tea ceremony.
Produced by Takayama bamboo whisk makers, it is a delight for the eyes of tea lovers to behold!
One can easily tell that it is beautifully made by the skillful hands of experts.

How to take care of your chasen

About whisk maker Kizou Nakata

 

 

 

The Process of Whisk Production

 
1. Raw bamboo (genchiku)
After 2-3 years of growing in the frigid Korean highlands, smoothened by the cold temperatures, the ash bamboo (hachiku) is cut and stored. The surface of the bamboo is even and its fibre very gentle, making it an outstanding material for craftsmen to work with.
2. Basic shape (hegi)
First, the upper-half of a whisk-sized bamboo piece is peeled.
It is then divided with a sharp knife into 16 equal parts (12 for thinner pieces, 18-24 for thicker bamboo).
3. Finer cut (kowari)
The 16 parts are partitioned into 10 equal tines, thus creating a whisk with 160 equal tines.
In the case of 80 pon-date chasen, the 10 tines are then divided alternately, collecting 5 in the centre of the whisk, and leaving 5 tines for the outer circle.
4. Shaving (ajikezuri)
The bamboo tines are dampened in hot water, then shaved from the bottom up. When they are suitably thin, they are ironed and shaped.
This method of shaving varies with the shape of the whisk. It is said that even the taste of Matcha depends on this most difficult process of shaving.
5. Moulding (mentori)
Each tine of the chasen is now individually shaved to produce angles on its sides.
This helps the powdered tea to not stick to them.
6. Inner and outer compilation (shitaami, ueami)
Using a thread, the tines are now separated into an inner and outer compilation.
7. The waist is arranged (koshinarabe)
A bamboo spoon is pushed in between the inner and outer compilation, evening the height and interval between the tines.
8. Finish
The order of the tines’ tips are corrected, and the shape is arranged to perfection.

 

 

Every first and third Sunday at the Takayama bamboo forest garden (Ikoma city), you can witness a public demonstration of bamboo whisk making. Here is the address of the Takayama bamboo forest garden:
Nara prefecture, Ikoma city Takayama Cho 3440 / TEL. 0743-79-3344
(Please inquire about the demonstration time.)

 

● About Takayama whisks (Nara Prefecture, Ikoma City)

Around the middle of the Muromachi Era, Sousetsu, the second son of Raiei, and owner of Takayama Castle, asked his close friend Murata Juko (chief monk at Shomeidera temple) to produce a bamboo whisk. This is said to be the origin of the production of Takayama whisks.
● Note about the whisks (chasen):

The Japanese word for “tea whisk” is commonly written with the two kanji (茶 = chaand 筅 = sen).
It is only in Takayama (Nara prefecture) that the kanji 筌 for sen is used.
Only Takayama chasen are known to be “the perfect” whisks.

See various Matcha tools (whisks, spoons, containers)

 

Nakata Kizo, whisk maker and bamboo craftsman
Kizo Nakata was born in 1940 in Takayama, Ikoma, Nara Prefecture.

Though he was the son of a rice farmer, at the age of 14, he was sent to acquire skillful hands by learning to make whisks as an apprentice. After 6 years of study, he continued to learn various techniques before becoming independent at the age of 25.

In 1975, he founded the Kizo Nakata company, which presently produces about half of Japan’s whisks.

 

 

Matcha bowls
Other tea ceremony ware
Matcha teaware sets
Matcha
Easy visual instructions on How to prepare Matcha

 


Points of attention (please read before ordering)
Please note that we order Matcha tools from various suppliers and will ship them as soon as they have been delivered to us.

 
Please do not use a dishwasher, microwave oven, or electric oven.

 
About your chasen:
A bamboo whisk is a very delicate tea utensil that might have to be replaced when the tines wear off or break.
When left moist, it might also produce mold. Please replace your whisk if you detect mold on it or if several tines are broken.

 

Weight .15 kg

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