Brush-Making with a Master Artisan & Basic Shodo Calligraphy Experience in Hiroshima

200 Years’ Worth of Kawajiri Town’s Heritage in a Single Brush

Located in Hiroshima Prefecture’s Kure City, the town of Kawajiri has created quality brushes since the late Edo period (approximately the mid-19th century). It is said that the townspeople of Kawajiri began making brushes to keep themselves occupied during slack seasons for farming, as the area’s sloped terrain made growing crops difficult. In addition, legend has it that the renowned monk Kukai (also known as Kobo Daishi), a master calligrapher himself, trained at Mt. Noro, one of Kawajiri’s landmarks. Today, Kawajiri brushes are still highly prized throughout Japan, especially among seasoned calligraphers.

Making a single brush requires considerable effort and skill, as multiple different steps are involved. First, the artisan must carefully select animal hairs according to their characteristics, then combine, bundle, and seal them to create a brush that will provide a comfortable writing experience to each individual.

When brushes first became popular in Japan, they were used as stationery tools, the way pens are used today. However, as modernization marched on, brushes gradually found use in cultural and artistic fields such as calligraphy. But although modernization also led to industrialization of the brush-making process, Hata Bunshindou's Kawajiri brushes continue to be made by artisans, completely by hand, to this day.

The Mindset and Expertise of a Brush Maker with 95 Years of History

The tradition of Kawajiri brushes lives on at the long-standing Hata Bunshindou, also known as Bunshindou Hataseihitsusho (Bunshindou Hata Brush-Making Factory). Since its founding in 1930, this workshop has continued to meticulously craft brushes by hand. It stands out for being a one-stop facility for brush making, as everything from the procurement of materials to the finishing touches is carried out here.

With “each single brush is the entire responsibility of one artisan” as the workshop’s guiding principle, every artisan at Hata Bunshindou can create a brush by hand from start to finish—a rarity in today’s heavily industrialized world. ​​This philosophy has earned acclaim for Hata Bunshindou, and the brush maker continues to be favored by many calligraphers, even to the point of gaining enthusiastic support overseas.

Hata Bunshindou attracts calligraphers from all over Japan seeking exquisite brushes, and it accepts requests for bespoke brushes. Its third-generation head, Yoshiyuki Hata, is an expert brush artisan who has earned the trust and respect of countless calligraphers and received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award. Among his many accomplishments is a brush-making demonstration for the Emperor and Empress of Japan. He also invented a technique for crafting extremely high-quality brushes with a rare type of wool that is no longer available in the market.

Artisanship: The Silent Determining Factor Behind A Brush’s Quality

Your brush-making and calligraphy experience will begin in Hata Bunshindou’s showroom. As you browse through the brushes on display, an artisan will introduce the history and craftsmanship of Kawajiri brushes. For example, you will learn how these brushes have been used in Japanese culture through the years, as well as how different types of animal hairs have varying effects on a brush’s feel and writing performance.

This portion of the experience is also a valuable opportunity to see up close and touch premium wool brushes that are prized among master calligraphers. The artisan guiding you will provide explanations such as, “This brush is made with rare wool that you can no longer find nowadays. Feel for yourself just how soft its bristles are.”

During this time, you will also experience the hair selection process, an important part of brush making, while comparing the qualities of different types of animal hair. In brush making, the hairs must be divided into several different categories by length and type, depending on whether they will be used for the inner or outer bristles.

As you carefully sort through the hairs to select the best, you will get a sense of the intricacies behind the creation of a single brush. There are no right and wrong answers in this process, but that is precisely what makes brush making so difficult but profound. Indeed, this moment is an encounter with the unique aesthetic sensibilities associated with Japanese craftsmanship.

From Raw Materials to a Complete Brush, Everything Begins with Handiwork

After selecting hairs, the next step in the brush-making process is watanuki, removing fluff. Unlike human hair, animal hairs have cotton-like fluff at their tips. These must be removed with a comb to prevent the bristles from tangling or hardening easily due to ink buildup.

The tip of a brush is called inochige, which literally means “hair of life.” As its name implies, it is the most delicate and important part of the brush. Thus, to maintain it, the tips of the various sets of hair are repeatedly aligned and trimmed at the root in processes called sakiyose and sungiri. Even for experienced artisans, sakiyose can still be quite the challenge, as this process can take four to five hours if the hair is the soft, high-quality type.

Next, you will watch artisans carry out nerimaze and yakijime. Through these steps, individual strands of animal hair begin to form the bristles that will become part of a single brush. In other words, a collection of “individuals” comes together to become something new.

Nerimaze is a hair mixing technique that involves thinly spreading the hairs out using water, then folding them repeatedly until they are blended uniformly. This is the technique most distinctly associated with Kawajiri brushes.

Meanwhile, yakijime is an advanced technique in which the base of the hair bundle is heated to harden it. This stabilizes the shape of the brush head, setting the foundation for the brush to become a tool that will last a lifetime.

*There may be times when you will not be able to watch these processes firsthand and in real time due to strong odors during yakijime, unforeseen circumstances, and/or other factors. In the rare event that this happens, Hata Bunshindou will provide a video of artisans at work, for you to watch on your own later. You can also let us know if you would prefer to receive the video so that you can spend more time on the calligraphy experience.

The final step in brush-making is norigatame, sealing brush hairs with glue. This is one of the steps that you will have the opportunity to try in the showroom. As the brush is bound with thread, it is sealed and hardened with natural glue made from seaweed. If you book the optional add-on, you will use higher-quality hairs for this portion of the experience.

Later, a finished brush will be engraved with your name, and you can take it home as a memento from this experience. Though brush-making may seem simple at first glance, it is actually a series of intricate tasks that will put your fingertips to work. However, with watchful guidance and clear advice from artisans, even beginners will feel at ease taking on such a challenge.

*The finished brush that you will take home will be different from the one that you will use during the hands-on portion of the brush-making experience. The latter will be provided only for the purpose of the experience, while the former will be prepared separately and given to you once it has been sealed with glue and personalized with your name.

Calligraphy with a Kawajiri Brush: An Enjoyable Immersion into Japanese Brush Culture

Since Japanese brushes developed hand-in-hand with shodo calligraphy, it feels natural to conclude this plan with a basic calligraphy experience. This will also double as an opportunity to test and compare the feel of various Kawajiri brushes.

Though it is said that calligraphy was introduced to Japan from China along with Buddhism, shodo developed independently from its Chinese counterpart due to the Japanese language having two other writing systems aside from kanji characters: hiragana and katakana.

Enhancing this experience is the opportunity to use special washi paper, handmade with spring water from the mountains of Shikoku by a washi artisan who is also a calligrapher. Learn the origins of various kanji characters and their meanings, and create a heartfelt illustrated letter by writing words and characters on thoughtfully crafted washi. Enjoy writing in different styles by changing the thickness and shading of your strokes, as well as the amount of pressure applied. You can take home all your finished creations along with your personalized brush.

Kawajiri Brushes: A Living Legacy of Hand-Crafted Artisanship

A visit to Hata Bunshindou is an opportunity to experience superb artisanship passed down through four generations, witness the artisans’ respect for the materials they use, and understand Japanese calligraphy culture, which has flourished together with Japanese brushes.

As you trace the brush-making process through a combination of observation and hands-on experience, you will gain a better understanding of the artisans’ dedication to their craft and their skillful techniques, which they hope to pass on to the future. Come to Kure City in Hiroshima Prefecture for a rich and meaningful encounter with Japanese arts and culture.