story

The Japanese Tawashi brush is a traditional household brush made by hand from organic plant fibers. Earlier versions of the brush were made (between 1603 and 1868) from rice straw, but the current design - from 1907 - uses fibers from windmill palms and coconut trees. The waterproof fibers are curved for durability and are held in place by a metal wire that snakes down the middle of a long end, forming a built-in hook for convenient storage.

Because the tawashi brush has been a common product in Japanese households for hundreds of generations, the term "tawashi" is used loosely to refer to various forms of scrub brushes.

The material

And like every great craft tradition, the Japanese one is also suffering from the influence of more modern materials. Still preserving the old and tried and tested: Takada Tawanashi dedicates himself to a special aspect of this tradition: Japanese brush making - and its special material: the fibers of the Chinese hemp palm. Chinese now, because you can hardly find them in Japan anymore and hardly anyone knows how to harvest and process their fibers. In contrast, quite a few people in the Kishū province, Wakayama Prefecture, once lived from the palm trees there, simply called Shuro - today Japanese fibers have become a real rarity. We know it as the Ticino palm, but it is native to where these brushes come from: carefully and entirely handcrafted, robust and stable. And at the same time incredibly delicate and fine, so that they do not leave any scratches even on sensitive surfaces. On top of that, they are completely food-safe.

Cleanliness - related to spatial hygiene, personal hygiene and mental purity - is one of the highest virtues in Japan.