This wooden chazutsu (tea canister) is made using the traditional kabazaiku (樺細工) technique in which a thin veneer of hand-scraped and polished cherry bark is carefully applied to a wooden core. Rather than the standard cylindrical shape, this canister has a unique rectangular shape with chamfered edges. Under the outer lid, there is an inner led and a space to store the included chasaji (茶匙 - tea scoop)
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 in Kakunodate, 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) by the Satake family of samurai in the 1700s.
Dimensions:
7cm (2.8in) - width
13.3cm (5.2in) - height
Condition: Very good
This vintage Japanese item ships from the United States.
