Kumano Fude

Japan's brush town

Kumano makes about 80% of Japan's brushes, with around 1,500 brush makers. The range runs from school and everyday calligraphy brushes to brushes for professional calligraphers, painting brushes and makeup brushes, and special brushes are made to order. It is made in Kumano in Hiroshima.

It starts with the hair

• Hair from goat, horse, deer, tanuki, weasel or cat is carefully selected; sorting is the foundation of the craft.
• It is rubbed with ash to remove oil, cut to length and blended into a core.
• Outer hair is wrapped around the core, and the base is tied with thread and seared.
• The tip is glued into the handle and the maker's name is carved.

Peddlers turned makers

In the Edo period many Kumano farmers worked away in the off-season in Kishu and Yoshino, and brought back brushes and ink to sell on the road. In the late Edo period a Kumano man learned brush making under the Hiroshima lords' official brush maker, came home and taught the villagers. With little farmland in their small basin, the people kept making brushes until Kumano became Japan's brush town.