| Name | Chasen 茶筅 ("tea whisk") |
|---|---|
| Types | Kazuho (~72 tines), 80-tine, 100-tine, 120-tine; coarse araho for thick tea |
| By school | Omotesenke: smoked bamboo / Urasenke: white bamboo / Mushakōji: black bamboo |
The chasen is said to have been devised in the Muromachi period in Takayama, Nara, at the request of tea pioneer Murata Jukō. For five centuries since, Takayama has remained "the village of the whisk," its techniques passed down within families.
One length of bamboo is split into a hundred or more tines with a single knife, then each tine is bent inward or outward in hot water — handwork no machine can replace. It remains a designated Traditional Craft of Japan.
During the procedure the whisk is rinsed in hot water while its tines are inspected.
Whisk briskly in an "m" pattern from the wrist, then lift off with a gentle "no" stroke.
Rinse after use and air-dry tines-up; a shaping stand (kusenaoshi) keeps its form.
As it touches the mouth and wears out, a whisk for actual use should be new. Secondhand stock is mostly unused old inventory.
Broken or splayed tines whisk poorly; good tines curve gently inward.
Takayama-made whisks outperform mass imports in balance and durability.
Check that the bamboo color suits your school of tea.
Once the shop is connected, pre-loved tea whisks available now will appear right here.