Traditional Japanese Shuro Windmill Palm Broom and Dustpan

A broom is a broom. There's nothing special to it, right? But there is if you are willing to go to Kainan City in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture and look for a "shuro" broom made there by traditional craftspeople. The Traditional Japanese Shuro Windmill Palm Broom and Dustpan is one such cleaning set made by Yamamoto Katsunosuke, who has been in the cleaning equipment business since 1862. Yes, the samurai also needed to sweep their tatami mat-floored homes and these brooms were the way to do it!

The broom in the Traditional Japanese Shuro Windmill Palm Broom and Dustpan set is handcrafted using the dark brown fibers from the trunk of the windmill palm tree (shuro). These fibers are tough, elastic, and don’t decay easily, and in Japan are also used, among other things, for ropes, nets, and tawashi scrubbing brushes. As for the dustpan, this particular type is called a "harimi" and is made of handmade washi paper lacquered with persimmon tannin to ensure it's waterproof and sturdy. So what you get, besides a beautiful, natural, organic way to clean your space, is a lesson in traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

Specs and Features:

• Set of broom and dustpan
• Materials (broom): windmill palm, bamboo, copper, iron
• Materials (dustpan): washi paper, bamboo
• Made in Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture, by traditional broom-maker Yamamoto Katsunosuke