This wooden chazutsu (tea canister) is made using the traditional kabazaiku (樺細工) technique in which a thin veneer of hand-scraped cherry bark is carefully applied to a wooden core. Instead of the usual polishing, half of the the cherry bark on this chazutsu was left in its raw, natural state, a style known as chirashi or shimofuri. This produces a beautiful gradient (暈し - bokashi) from the smooth, polished top, to the natural, raw bottom.

Commonly applied to steel canisters, this fully wooden style is more traditional and more time- and labour-consuming to make, as the interior is also coated with a layer of cherry bark.

Made by Tomioka in Daisen, Akita Prefecture.

Featuring an airtight inner lid, this canister is perfect for keeping roughly 150 grams of tea fresh. Note: the canister's capacity is measured with sencha, meaning it may hold more or less of other teas.

The Kabazaiku (樺細工, also 桜皮細工) technique of hand-scraping, polishing, and pasting wild cherry bark is unique to Akita Prefecture in northern Japan, where the technique was brought to the town of Kakunodate (角館) in Akita by the Satake family of samurai in the 1700s. 

To clean, wipe with a dry cloth. As the cherry bark is uncoated, it will absorb moisture, which is ideal for tea storage. However, this means that any water that gets on it should be wiped off immediately.

Dimensions:

8.4cm (3.3in) - width
12cm (4.7in) - height

Condition: New

This Japanese item ships from the United States.