ONLINE EVENT
Chasen Tea Whisks – Workshop Visit & Demonstration with Tanimura Tango
茶筅：谷村丹後 工房訪問
Pay a live virtual visit to the Tanimura Tango chasen workshop in Takayama, Ikoma City, an area of Nara Prefecture which has been the centre of tea whisk manufacturing in Japan for more than five centuries.
Hand-carved from a single piece of bamboo, chasen (tea whisks) are used to mix powdered matcha with hot water during chadō, the Japanese way of tea. The Tanimura family have upheld the intricate art of making chasen for almost 500 years and are one of only three remaining chasen-making families in Takayama of the 13 who were given official surnames by the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo Period (1603-1868 CE).
Following an introduction to the history of chasen manufacturing in Takayama by Tanimura Tango, master craftsman and the 20th-generation successor to the family line, guests can enjoy a special live demonstration of how chasen are made using secret techniques passed down from father to son.
During this live online event, moderated by Japan House London Programming Director Simon Wright, there is an opportunity for registered guests to ask questions to the speaker.
This event is being held thanks to Nishihara Sakiko.
About the Speaker
Tanimura Tango
Born in 1964 in Takayama, Ikoma City, Nara Prefecture, Tanimura Tango belongs to the Tanimura family, members of which have been producing tea whisks for almost 500 years in the town. Since 1993, he has been dedicated to the family business and in 2006 he was named the 20th-generation successor to the family line. In 2013, he participated in the ‘Revalue Nippon Project’ presided over by Nakata Hidetoshi with Sato Kashiwa (Art Director, SAMURAI creative studio) and Tagawa Kinya (co-founder of Takram design engineering), co-producing and exhibiting the artwork ‘TakeFino’. In 2015 he was certified as a Traditional Craftsman by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. He is a regular instructor of Urasenke chadō and a managing director of the Takayama Teahouse Production Cooperative Association in Nara Prefecture.
