A day with the whisk makers of Takayama

In December 2025, we visited a tea whisk maker's studio in Takayama, Nara.

It was a busy time. The craftspeople were working to prepare whisks made from fresh bamboo for use after the New Year. It was also the bamboo harvesting season.

During that visit, we learned that the amount of bamboo available for that year's harvest was expected to fall by around 20 percent. Changing weather in Japan was one part of the story. There were also fewer people working to cut and gather the bamboo.

It was a reminder that bamboo, something we may think of as an ordinary material, can become difficult to source.

For the people making tea whisks, a shortage affects how many they can produce and the cost of their work. At the time, we expected these pressures to have an effect on the future availability and price of Japanese whisks.

We often spend time learning about the leaves behind a bowl of matcha. That day in Takayama brought our attention to the tool in our hand, and the people and material behind it.