Kennyō All-Season Hishaku

This handmade hishaku (柄杓 - water ladle) is made by made in Takayama, Nara by Yasaburo Tanimura (谷村弥三郎) of Suikaen in the kennyō (兼用 - dual purpose) style. In between furo and ro styles, this all-purpose type has a intermediate sized cup and a straight cut end to the handle. It is made of two pieces of hand carved bamboo, expertly fitted together without glue or fastenings to form a watertight seal.

Bamboo is sensitive to humidity, and will shrink if the atmosphere is too dry. Bamboo also expands when soaked with hot water, so if the cup and handle are loose when dry, they will swell and become tightly fitted when used.

The hishaku (柄杓) is a bamboo scoop used to measure and transfer water during a temae. Today, temae hishaku come in four different styles: ro (炉 - hearth/cold season), furo (風炉 - brazier/warm season), kennyo (兼用 - dual purpose), and sashi-toshi (差し通し - pass-through).

In addition to chasen, Suikaen also produces other bamboo utensils for chanoyu, including chashaku, hishaku, and kuromoji.

Please note! The box this product currently comes packaged in is now red (not the white as pictured).