*SHIPPING OPTIONS VARY DEPENDING ON THE DESTINATION, PLEASE SCROLL TO THE END OF THIS LISTING FOR MORE DETAILS.

This listing is for a lacquered Takayama bamboo chashaku. Chashaku are an essential item for traditional Japanese tea ceremony, they are used for the measuring and preparation of matcha tea. The back of the chashaku in this listing is coated in black lacquer decorated with the rabbit that crossed the sea.  According to an old legend, there once was a white rabbit who wished to reach Inaba from the island where he lived. He could not accomplish this on his own, so he decided to trick some sharks into helping him. He spotted a shark just out to sea and called out to it, “I bet there are more of us rabbits than there are sharks. Why don’t you have all the sharks line up and I’ll count them!” The thought of losing to a rabbit was more than the shark could tolerate, so he had everyone line up all the way over to Inaba. The white rabbit put his plan into action and began to hop along the backs of the sharks. Just as he was about to reach land he quipped, “I tricked you all into lining up for me just so I could get to Inaba, what fools you are!” The last shark, infuriated by the actions of the devious rabbit, grabbed the rabbit and ripped off a large strip of fur. The rabbit’s wound was touched by sea water, and the salty breeze caused the rabbit’s skin to crack and bleed. A boy named Okununishi encountered the rabbit lying in the grass wailing in pain. He asked the white rabbit what had happened, and the rabbit truthfully explained. The boy promised to help the rabbit if he promised not to fool anyone again. The rabbit agreed, so the boy took the rabbit down to the river and washed him. He laid out some cattails and gently rolled the rabbit over them, making sure that the wound absorbed the cattail’s medicine. The rabbit’s pain stopped and the wound made a speedy recovery, but more importantly, the white rabbit that crossed the sea never fooled anyone ever again.

Takayama refers to bamboo tea utensils produced in the Takayama district of Ikoma city in Nara Prefecture.  Local craftspeople have been producing bamboo tea utensils since the Muromachi period, and presently this area remains one of the leading producers of chasen in all of Japan.  Bamboo is sourced locally and utensils are produced by highly skilled certified artisans.  There are three types of bamboo – white, black and susutake soot bamboo.  After bamboo is cut it’s dried for around 2 years before it is crafted into utensils.  **Fellow sellers, this information was researched by Kominka Zakka and CANNOT be used in your own listings.

Sizes
Paper Box: H.2.8cm (1.1”) x 21cm (8.2”) x 3.2cm (1.2”)
Chashaku: L.18.6cm (7.3”)

Condition
It’s in excellent condition and is a brand new item.

THESE ARE SHIPPING ESTIMATES BASED ON THE CURRENT GLOBAL SITUATION                                                                 

**Germany, France, Greece, Spain, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia:  NO SHIPPING.  Very strict and expensive packaging laws in place and we are not licensed to send products to these countries.  We have no plan to register at this time because the process is in some cases very expensive and complicated, plus each country has its own set of regulations and application process. 

**USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway: Airmail Small Packet (approx. 15-28 days).  Combined shipping available up to 2kgs for Airmail Small Packet (please send us a message).

**Asia:  Airmail Small Packet (approx. 15-21 days).  Combined shipping available up to 2kgs for Airmail Small Packet (please send us a message).

**Central Asia, Middle East, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico:  EMS Express 10-15 days.

**Russia:  No shipping methods available.