The connection between the production area and the brush is said to have begun in the first half of the 19th century when Sanzo Kikutani procured brushes from Arima in Settsu Province (present-day Hyogo Prefecture) and sold them at temple schools and other places.
Furthermore, after achieving success in the brush business, Yaekichi Ueno convinced the villagers that brush manufacturing would be a profitable side business during the off-season for farming, and it is said that the brush manufacturing industry began in the mid-19th century when he made his first brush. Subsequently, several other manufacturers followed suit, forming a production area known as "KAWAJIRI Fude (Brushes)," and the name became known throughout Japan.

• Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques

  1. For the hair-rubbing process, use the ash of rice husks.

  2. For cutting 2 inches, use a piece of wood and scissors.

  3. The mixed hair must be "kneaded together" (including kneaded together after the initial mixing).

  4. Use hemp thread for tying.

   

  raw materials

  1. The bristles shall be made of animal hair from goats, horses, weasels, raccoons, deer, or animals of equivalent quality.

  2. The material for the axis shall be bamboo or wood.

• Work scene

  Work scene

  KAWAJIRI Fude (Brushes) come in many different types.
  Here, we'll show you how a wool brush made solely from goat hair is created.

  Brushes require various properties, such as ink-holding capacity and stiffness.
  The balance of these factors affects the feel of the brush when writing.
  The bristles of a calligraphy brush are called the brush head, and a typical brush consists of five stages of bristles, each with a different function. These five stages of bristles are mixed together evenly to create a single brush head. There are two methods for mixing the bristles: "bon-maze" and "neri-maze," but here we will introduce the "neri-maze" technique.

  Step 1: Sorting of raw wool

  We select raw wool based on its elasticity, luster, thickness, and length. We identify and remove any wool that may break or bend when processed into a product.

  

  Process 2: Hair braiding

  The selected hair is further divided into five stages, and the appropriate amount is prepared according to the mixing ratio. The mixing ratio will vary depending on the brush being made.

  

  Step 3: Removing the cotton filling

  After wrapping the raw wool in bleached cloth and boiling it, and then drying it thoroughly, the wool is repeatedly combed with a metal comb to remove all traces of cotton attached to the raw material.

  

  Process 4: Degreasing

  After removing the cotton fibers, ash from burnt rice husks is sprinkled on them, and a heated, flat weight is placed on top to straighten the fibers and melt out the oils within them.
  Before the hair cools down, it is wrapped in deerskin, and then carefully rubbed through the skin to remove the oils from the hair.

  

  Step 5: Gathering

  The hair is placed on a curved metal plate. The edge of the metal plate is lightly tapped several times with a small plate, and the vibrations help to neatly align the ends of the hair.

  

  Step 6: Backcombing and removing unwanted hair

  We identify and remove unwanted hairs such as those that grow in the wrong direction, are broken, frayed, or damaged.

  

  Step 7: Cutting into threads

  Cut each group of hair to the required length.

  

  Step 8: Re-rooting

  The hairs are gathered together in groups, with the roots aligned. Unwanted or stray hairs are then identified from the gathered hairs and removed using a hansashi (a small knife specially used for brush making).

  

  Step 9: Flounder

  Wet the gathered hair with water and comb it to remove any tangled or unwanted hairs.
  Spread the hair from which you have removed unwanted hair thinly and evenly in a single row on a glass plate.
  While holding the spread-out hair in place with a bamboo holder, use a comb to arrange the hair's direction.
  This state is called flounder.

  

  Step 10: Mix

   

  

   

  

  The layers of flattened hair are rolled up from one end and then crushed to mix the hair together. This process is called kneading and mixing.
  The hair, which has been kneaded and flattened, is bundled together and combed to find and remove any loose hairs.
  This process is repeated many times for each group. Once each group's hair is thoroughly mixed, the hair from each group is flattened, stacked, and combined into one mass, and the mixing and removal of excess hair is repeated again.

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  Step 11: Core setting

  The mixed bristles are flattened, coated with seaweed paste, and then portioned out according to the desired thickness of the brush.
  The separated hair is threaded through a frame called a "koma" to even out the circumference around the body.
  After trimming, remove any remaining hairs and let it air dry.

  

  Step 12: Top curl

  A very thin layer of hair is wrapped around the outside of the stiffened bristles. This layer of hair is called the top layer or decorative bristles.
  After curling the top layer of hair, let it air dry again.

  

  Step 13: Tightening the thread

  The base of the dried ear of rice is secured with hemp thread.

  

  Step 14: Tightening

  Apply a branding iron to the base to tighten and firm the tip of the stalk. Once tightened, the tip of the stalk is complete.

  

  Step 15: Loading

  While rotating the shaft on the stand, use a small knife to shave the inside of the shaft to match the thickness of the bristles. Insert the bristles into the shaved area and secure them with adhesive.

  

  Step 16: Gluing

  After thoroughly soaking the tip of the stalk with seaweed paste, wrap it with hemp thread and shape it while removing any excess paste.

  

  Step 17: Engraving

  The name will be engraved on the barrel.

  

  工程18： 完成

• Close-up

  Close-up

  Quiet traditional crafts and artisans in a quiet town

  Kawajiri-cho, Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture, is a coastal town where the Seto Inland Sea, dotted with islands, stretches out before you, and Mount Noro, part of the Seto Inland Sea National Park, rises behind you. Brush making has been a tradition in this picturesque town since the Edo period.
  Many of KAWAJIRI Fude (Brushes) users are professionals who use brushes, including calligraphers, ceramic painters, and lacquerware artisans. Among them, we visited the workshop of Yoshiyuki Hata, one of the brush makers who specializes in making sheep hair brushes, which are particularly favored by calligraphers.

   

  The spirit of a craftsman's son

  Mr. Hata is the third generation of a family of brush makers. Unlike his predecessors, the first and second generations, who made general brushes, he specializes in sheep's wool brushes. Sheep's wool brushes are the highest quality brushes available. Among these, the most luxurious are the custom-made brushes known as "one-piece brushes." Mr. Hata's work mainly consists of these custom-made brushes.
  For Hata, who had been helping with the family business since childhood, becoming a brush maker was a natural progression. However, there was a reason why he didn't simply follow in that footsteps, but instead tried to forge his own path.
  The determination to "aim for the top if I'm going to do it anyway" and the thought that "if I do the same thing as my dad, I'll never beat him"—that's what led Mr. Hata to choose wool brushes.

  The ultimate brush: "Sheep hair brush"

  The "wool" in "wool brush" refers to the hair of a goat, not a sheep. A wool brush is a brush whose tip is made solely from goat hair. Goat hair is long, flexible, and has excellent shaping and ink-holding properties. Furthermore, its softness means it wears down less due to friction, resulting in a longer lifespan for the bristles. It possesses ideal characteristics as a material for calligraphy brushes.
  A high-quality sheep's hair brush can last for 20 to 30 years. The more you use it, the more elastic the bristles become, making it easier to write with. It truly is a brush for life.
  While wool brushes possess excellent properties, their production is far more difficult than that of ordinary brushes.
  A craftsman who makes wool brushes needs the discerning eye to distinguish between similar-looking hairs based on their properties, and the skill to fully bring out the unique characteristics of each hair.

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  Each brushstroke is a serious battle.

  Ms. Hata handles everything herself, from sourcing the wool materials to completing the finished product.
  Each brush he makes is imbued with passion and dedication. It's no easy feat to handle every step of the brush-making process, which is often divided among different artisans. It takes time to become a fully-fledged craftsman. However, the sense of accomplishment is all the greater. "When teachers who use my brushes tell me, 'Thanks to you, I won an award,' it's incredibly rewarding. It feels like all the hardships and scoldings I went through just vanish."

  

  A one-of-a-kind brush

  The demands placed on a single brush are demanding. The calligrapher adds detailed instructions to their work, conveying to Mr. Hata the image of the lines they want to express.
  Hata then translates that image into a painting.
  When creating a brush, not only the properties and combinations of the raw materials are considered, but also the strength and movement of the calligrapher's hand. This is because the final expression is born from the interplay of all these factors.
  While Mr. Hata now creates brushes that satisfy his clients on the first try, he says that in his early days he was made to remake them many times. If he received negative feedback, he would destroy the finished brush and start over. It was through these repeated experiences that he has arrived at his current level of skill.
  The artist's dedication to expression and the craftsman's skills honed through experience combine to create a one-of-a-kind brush.

  

  The weight of a single hair

  Brush making is a painstaking process of repetitive work. No matter how high-quality the hair is, as the process progresses and different processing is applied, some hairs will bend or become twisted. These are found at each stage of the process and carefully removed.
  It is through the accumulation of such painstaking work that high-quality brushes can be produced.
  Kawajiri's brush making embodies both imagination, meticulous consideration of everything from the combination of materials to the characteristics of the user's hand, and a sincere approach to craftsmanship. This may be the reason why professional brush users place their trust in KAWAJIRI Fude (Brushes).

  

  Craftsman Profile

  Yoshiyuki Hata

  Born in 1951 in Kawajiri Town, he is the third generation of a family of brush makers, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father. After learning the fundamentals of brush making under his father, he honed his skills by visiting craftsmen in Tokyo and Osaka. In 1978, he presented calligraphy brushes to Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi. In 1982, he became the youngest person in the country to receive the National Calligraphy Supplies Production Federation Skill Award. In 1984, he received the Skill Award for the second time. Since 1997, he has been making efforts to introduce KAWAJIRI Fude (Brushes) by demonstrating his skills on television. In 2004, he was selected for the National Traditional Crafts Exhibition.

   

   

  Anecdotes

  Kawajiri Town Brush Making Museum

  On the summit of Mt. Noro, overlooking the town, is the Kawajiri Town Brush Making Museum, which houses materials related to brush making in Kawajiri. The first floor is a training room, and the second floor is an exhibition room where tools and materials for brush making are displayed, and visitors can see the process of brush making.

  The exhibition features works by contemporary calligraphers such as Murakami Mishima, Kaneko Otei, and Aoyama Sugiu, as well as reproductions of works by Chinese calligraphers.

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