MEICHIKUEN
Premium Black Bamboo Chasen Tea Whisk
Premium Black Bamboo Chasen Tea Whisk
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Handmade in Takayama, Nara by young chasen craftsman Masaki Ariyama 有山正貴.
Crafted from naturally dark black bamboo, each chasen is carefully split, shaved and shaped entirely by hand. The deep, organic tones of the bamboo give every piece its own subtle character, making no two exactly alike.
Each whisk takes approximately a full day to make.
We’re very happy to share the chasen Masaki makes with our community. A small number will be available each month, each one made entirely by Masaki himself.
Details
Size: D 5.5 × H 11cm
Material: Black bamboo
Care
After use, rinse gently with water and allow to dry thoroughly. We recommend storing your chasen upright or on a chasen holder to help maintain its shape.
Please note: As each chasen is handmade from natural bamboo, variations in colour, grain and form are part of the character of the piece.
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ABOUT THE MAKER
Meichikuen | 明竹園 | Takayama, Nara Prefecture
A new chapter for Meichikuen
Masaki's return to chasen-making is also a return of Meichikuen.
The original Meichikuen was a family business established by Kiyokazu Ariyam and his wife, Kazue in 1950. The name disappeared from active production after the family workshop closed in the mid-2000s.
Now, more than half a century after his grandfather first began making chasen, Masaki is bringing the name back into the world of tea, not by simply recreating the past, but by finding his own way forward.
For Masaki, this is still the beginning.
He is not yet presenting himself as someone who has reached the end of the craft's long apprenticeship. Rather, he is a young chasen maker carrying forward something his grandfather began more than seventy years ago, learning from the generation before him while gradually developing his own hands, techniques and relationship with bamboo.
From 1950 to today, Meichikuen has taken an unexpected path: from grandfather, to father, to grandson.
And now, the sound of bamboo being split and shaved has returned to the Ariyama family.
We first met Masaki while searching for an artisan to create a giant chasen for Simply Native. Through Yukino’s friends, we were introduced to him, and what began as a search for one unusual piece became an ongoing relationship.
When we first visited in January, Masaki was still learning kezuri, one of the most important stages of chasen making. Today, he can complete the entire process himself.
We’re now proud to support his continued development and share a small number of his chasen with our community each month.