Suikaen Tanimura Yasaburo Takayama Chasen & Utensils

A collection of tea utensils created by master Yasaburo Tanumura & Suikaen Takayama Chasen. 

This family of master craftspeople have been making the tools for tea ceremony for over 500 years in the mountains of Takayama, Ikoma City in Nara prefecture. 


Yasaburo Takayama Chasen

Each Chasen is made from specially selected bamboo that is grown, harvested, seasoned and processed all by the family. Each Chasen 茶筅 is made from a single pice of bamboo that is expertly cut, shaved and rounded to create the desired shape. Read more about the process in our blog post HERE

Takayama is famous for the sight of bamboo being seasoned in these pyramids.

The chasen are made from three year old bamboo that is seasoned for a further three years ensuring that all moisture has been fully removed before the artisans start creating each piece.

History of Chasen

When Juko of Shomyoji Temple in Nara, who was the founder of modern tea ceremony, came up with the idea of ​​drinking tea by grinding tea leaves into powder, he asked Sosuke Nyudo, the second son of the lord of Takayama Castle, to come up with a tea whisk for this purpose. What emerged is the current `Takayama Chasen.''

At Suikaen Yasaburo Tanimura, we have inherited the skills of the masters with a history of about 500 years.