Black Bamboo Shin Kazuho Chasen Tea Whisk with Yellow Strings 色糸真数穂黒竹 (Tanimura Tango)

$62.00

This item ships for free within the US. International orders will require additional shipping.

Each chasen is handmade and will not be identical to the one in photo
Natural bamboo may have spots and markings.
Please do not purchase this item if these natural features will not be acceptable to you.
Approximately 70 Tines
D2.25″ x H4.5″
Natural Black Bamboo
Handmade in Japan by Tanimura Tango
The Shin-Kazuho style tea whisk has lightly curved tines.

Even with proper use and storage, the bamboo can crack and the tines will break over time, at which point the tea whisk should be replaced.

1 in stock

SKU: O-TT-014-3 Categories: , , Tag:
Tanimura Tango
Nara, Japan

This special edition Shin Kazuho chasen is made of kurochiku black bamboo and it is slightly longer than the normal shin kazuho chasen. The chasen is meant to be used and as such, should ultimately be considered disposable. Even with proper use and storage, the bamboo can crack and the tines will break, at which point it should be replaced.

Master craftsman Tanimura Tango meticulously makes bamboo chasen (tea whisks) that are used in the preparation of matcha powdered tea. He is the current descendant of a family that has been making chasen for the past 500 years over 20 generations in Takayama, Nara prefecture.

Enthusiasm for Tanimura chasen goes back just as far. The name “Tango” was bestowed on the Tanimuras by the Tokugawa Shogunate as the designated provider of chasen. Since then each successive son takes “Tango” as a professional name when his father retires. Tanimura-san’s predecessor made whisks prior to the birth of Sen-no-Rikyu (1522-1591) from whom all three major Japanese tea schools are descended.

Until the end of the Meiji era (1868-1912), the method of making the chasen was  kept secret, and was only passed on to the eldest son among the families of chasen makers. Each tea whisk is handmade from a single piece of bamboo and there are over 100 types and forms to meet the exacting requirements of different tea schools.