Kishū Tawashi

The hemp palm is a type of tall, evergreen palm. It is cultivated in Japan for ornamentation. It is also closely linked to the daily lives of the Japanese, such as being used as a building material (such as bedposts, railing, or wooden bell hammer), its leaves made into tea, or its fruits turned into medicine. The fibres of the bark are used to make ropes, rugs, brooms, and tawashi (scrubbing brushes). Kishū is a region where production of hemp palm products has been vibrant since ancient times.

Despite being useful in the daily life of the Japanese, demand for products made using the hemp palm gradually began to dwindle from around 1965. The situation worsened with the increasing amount of hemp palms imported from China, the decrease in domestic production of hemp palms, the ageing of craftsmen and other factors would limit Japan’s production of products made using domestic hemp palm. The production of scrubbing brushes made from hemp palm is one of the efforts to ensure Japan’s hemp palm product culture and industry can be passed on to posterity. 

The fibres are neatly bundled and washed in water. The ends are then evenly trimmed and the fibres cut to the desired tawashi size. Fibres from the tip of the bark and fibres from the end of the bark attached to the tree have different firmness to them. For this reason, after the bundled fibres are cut, they are processed separately according to the firmness to make appropriate products.

The fibres are sandwiched between hairpin-shaped wires.

The wires are twisted in one go using even pressure.

Protruding fibres are trimmed off using a special machine. There is a specific trimming machine for every size of tawashi.

The rounded shape is created by bending the twisted bundle and fastening the wire on both ends.

Besides the round tawashi, there are also various types of shapes for various purposes, including baton-shaped tawashi and tawashi with handles. The fibre of hemp palm produced in Japan is soft, making it perfect for brushes not only designed for washing dishware, but also for massaging washing the body in the bath or shower.

Sasara is a type of tawashi with the fibres in bundled form. To make a sasara the fibres from the bark close to the tree are used. Sasara differs from the usual tawashi in that it can be used for heavy-duty washing that is similar to polishing. When the tips are worn, the length of the fibres can be adjusted by removing the wire that holds them in place.