Sagara Co., Ltd.
Certified Traditional Craftsman of Katsushika Ward
Shinichi Sagara, the third-generation head of Sagara Co., Ltd., carries on the family tradition of making tawashi brushes. Upon entering the workshop, he greets visitors with a warm, approachable smile and pauses the machines to demonstrate the crucial twisting (“nejiri”) process.
Using a twisting machine that has been in the family since his grandfather’s generation, he folds the wire in half, sandwiches the shuro palm fibers evenly, and twists them all at once. Achieving the perfect brush requires applying just the right amount of force: too little and the brush will be loose, too much and the wire may break. Mastery of this delicate balance comes only through decades of experience.
Shinichi began his apprenticeship immediately after graduating from school and has now been practicing the craft for nearly fifty years. Today, he manages the workshop alongside his brother Seiji Sagara, carefully following each labor-intensive step to produce durable, high-quality shuro tawashi brushes that are both strong and comfortable to use.
Sagara Co., Ltd.’s shuro tawashi brushes are crafted through more than thirty meticulous steps, from selecting the raw fibers to the finished product. Each year, the quality of shuro palm fibers changes, with more unusable portions, making the selection and preprocessing stages increasingly demanding and reliant on experience. Despite these challenges, the workshop has never simplified its process; instead, it has refined and added steps based on careful reasoning to achieve the optimal result.
Every stage—aligning the fibers, determining their density, and twisting them evenly—is carried out without compromise to bring out the shuro’s natural flexibility and resilience. The resulting brushes possess a quality that can be felt at first touch, earning the respect of professional chefs and skilled artisans alike.
Even today, with inexpensive overseas products dominating the market, Sagara’s unwavering dedication to meticulous craftsmanship makes its shuro tawashi brushes truly one-of-a-kind, a testament to pride and skill handed down through generations.
Shuro Tawashi brushes are traditional Japanese household tools that have supported kitchen work for generations. Their origin is said to date back to 1907 (Meiji 40), when Shōzaemon Nishio, the founder of Kamenoko Tawashi Nishio Shoten, observed people bundling scraps of mats used for cleaning kettles and imagined a new type of scrubbing brush. This practical idea quickly spread throughout Japan due to its high functionality.
Tawashi are made from different natural fibers, primarily coconut husk or the fibers of the shuro palm, each with its own characteristics. Among them, shuro tawashi are especially valued for their flexible, soft fibers, which are gentle on cookware surfaces. Over time, the brushes mold to the user’s hand and exhibit remarkable durability, earning high praise from both craftsmen and professional chefs.
While tawashi were once commonplace in Japanese kitchens, today they have largely been replaced by mass-produced nylon brushes, which are cheaper and more convenient. Despite this, the unique tactile feel of natural fibers and the careful craftsmanship behind hand-made shuro tawashi continue to captivate users.
Shuro tawashi remain a quiet yet enduring symbol of Japanese daily life and the ingenuity of its artisans, preserving a living connection between tradition, functionality, and skilled craft.
These palm scrubbers are all handcrafted.
Not only is it easy to use, it also drains well and is hygienic.
Sagara Co., Ltd.
Certified Traditional Craftsman of Katsushika Ward
Shinichi Sagara, the third-generation head of Sagara Co., Ltd., carries on the family tradition of making tawashi brushes. Upon entering the workshop, he greets visitors with a warm, approachable smile and pauses the machines to demonstrate the crucial twisting (“nejiri”) process.
Using a twisting machine that has been in the family since his grandfather’s generation, he folds the wire in half, sandwiches the shuro palm fibers evenly, and twists them all at once. Achieving the perfect brush requires applying just the right amount of force: too little and the brush will be loose, too much and the wire may break. Mastery of this delicate balance comes only through decades of experience.
Shinichi began his apprenticeship immediately after graduating from school and has now been practicing the craft for nearly fifty years. Today, he manages the workshop alongside his brother Seiji Sagara, carefully following each labor-intensive step to produce durable, high-quality shuro tawashi brushes that are both strong and comfortable to use.
Sagara Co., Ltd.’s shuro tawashi brushes are crafted through more than thirty meticulous steps, from selecting the raw fibers to the finished product. Each year, the quality of shuro palm fibers changes, with more unusable portions, making the selection and preprocessing stages increasingly demanding and reliant on experience. Despite these challenges, the workshop has never simplified its process; instead, it has refined and added steps based on careful reasoning to achieve the optimal result.
Every stage—aligning the fibers, determining their density, and twisting them evenly—is carried out without compromise to bring out the shuro’s natural flexibility and resilience. The resulting brushes possess a quality that can be felt at first touch, earning the respect of professional chefs and skilled artisans alike.
Even today, with inexpensive overseas products dominating the market, Sagara’s unwavering dedication to meticulous craftsmanship makes its shuro tawashi brushes truly one-of-a-kind, a testament to pride and skill handed down through generations.
Shuro Tawashi brushes are traditional Japanese household tools that have supported kitchen work for generations. Their origin is said to date back to 1907 (Meiji 40), when Shōzaemon Nishio, the founder of Kamenoko Tawashi Nishio Shoten, observed people bundling scraps of mats used for cleaning kettles and imagined a new type of scrubbing brush. This practical idea quickly spread throughout Japan due to its high functionality.
Tawashi are made from different natural fibers, primarily coconut husk or the fibers of the shuro palm, each with its own characteristics. Among them, shuro tawashi are especially valued for their flexible, soft fibers, which are gentle on cookware surfaces. Over time, the brushes mold to the user’s hand and exhibit remarkable durability, earning high praise from both craftsmen and professional chefs.
While tawashi were once commonplace in Japanese kitchens, today they have largely been replaced by mass-produced nylon brushes, which are cheaper and more convenient. Despite this, the unique tactile feel of natural fibers and the careful craftsmanship behind hand-made shuro tawashi continue to captivate users.
Shuro tawashi remain a quiet yet enduring symbol of Japanese daily life and the ingenuity of its artisans, preserving a living connection between tradition, functionality, and skilled craft.
