chasen　茶筅
KEY WORD :　architecture / tea houses
　
A tea whisk used to whip powdered green tea, matcha 抹茶, and hot water in a tea bowl until it froths. The whisk is made from one piece of bamboo about 2 to 2 1/2 cm thick and from 9cm to 12cm long. Near one end is a node. A little beyond the node on the longer end, string is interlaced, karami-ito 絡み糸, to hold the longer ends which are split finely into a varying number of extremely thin strips. The string is intertwined to create two rows of strips. Those on the outer edge have their tips curved inwardly, and those pulled toward the center have their tips curved out. This creates a double tipped whisk. Whisks are classified by the number of tips: those having 80 to 120 or more are called multi-tipped; those with fewer are designated medium or sparse. White bamboo is preferred by the Ura Senke 裏千家 School; sooty bamboo by the Omote Senke 表千家 School; green or purplish bamboo by the Kankyuu'an 官休庵 School.
　

a) chajimi 茶じみ　b) hosaki 穂先　c) karami-ito 絡み糸
d) jiku 軸　e) fushi 節

　
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