Japanese Chasen - 翠華園 Suikaen - Shiratake Kazuho White Bamboo Matcha Whisk

This shiratake (白竹) white bamboo Kazuho Chasen (matcha whisk) was made in Takayama, Nara by Yasaburo Tanimura (谷村弥三郎) of Suikaen.The kazuho (数穂) shape is the most basic style of chasen. Compared to the shin/shin kazuho (真・真数穂) it has straighter tines that are tightly curled at the tip. Like the shin, the kazuho has roughly 64 tines, and sits in between dedicated usucha chasen which have lots of thin tines, and dedicated koicha chasen, which have fewer but thicker tines. This makes kazuho-type chasen suitable both for whipping up a fine, foamy usucha and kneading a thick, rich koicha. Suikaen is headed by Yasaburo Tanimura (谷村弥三郎), a 25th generation chasen maker who has carried on his family's 500 year old tradition and is one of the only 18 remaining chasen masters. These whisks are made from locally grown bamboo in the small village of Takayama (高山) in northwest Nara prefecture, famed as the only chasen making village in Japan. Unlike mass-produced matcha whisks, these chasen are ent