Figure: Mr. Yasaburo Tanimura as a traditional craftsman

In the year of 1975, Mr. Yasaburo Tanimura was pointed as a Japanese traditional craftsman by the Japanese government.

By using Japanese bamboo, his ancestors has been making CHASEN (Tea Whisks) for Japanese tea ceremonies at Takayama, Nara prefecture in central part of Honshu Japan from Muromachi period (1333-1568) for almost 500 years until now.

In Japanese old feudalistic proverb, there’s a word "Isshi-souden" which means a guy who was chosen by his father as the only son to be taught secrets, skills and methods of art.
This unprecedented tradition has been forced to his families to keep the strict tradition for long time in Japan. Thereafter, the production method was kept a guarded secret by the lord of the castle and his family, and was carefully handed down from generation to generation.

CHASEN (Tea Whisk) is a one of tool for a tea ceremony but Mr. Tanimura put utmost care into making the tea whisk individually made by hand to the people who are able to understand it value of products more than its usage as for tea whisks.

Takayama in Kyoto has a long history for tea tools and with SADOU culture for long time, and now the only place in Japan where tea whisks are being made.
Mr. Tanimura was born in Takayama and grows up in Takayama. He hopes that everyone in the world will be able to know about SADOU which is the main traditional culture in Japan. The culture needs a continuation even now and be supported by many people’ power. He believes that the mission in his life is to hand down knowledge and skills to the next generation and teaching the history of TAKAYAMA CHASEN to the posterity which are built up by ancestors.