Famous Palm Scrubbing Brush Maker Keen on Developing New Products
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A chandelier of tawashi brushes and light bulbs attracts attention inside the shop of Kamenoko-Tawashi Nishio-Shoten in Kita Ward, Tokyo.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The building that houses Kamenoko-Tawashi Nishio-Shoten was built in 1923 and escaped unscathed in World War II.
Leave JR Itabashi Station from the east exit and walk eastward on the Kyu-Nakasendo road, and soon you will see a two-story Western-style building and windmill palm trees. The building belongs to Kamenoko-Tawashi Nishio-Shoten Co., which has been manufacturing and selling tawashi scrubbing brushes since the Meiji era (1868-1912).
The first thing that comes into view when you step inside the company's shop on the first floor is a chandelier-like ornament with suspended tawashi and light bulbs. It is surrounded by all kinds of tawashi, from familiar oval tawashi to the scrubbing brushes with handles, some with the slightly bent top end for washing pots and pans.
'The shop has a fantastic atmosphere. I find the product lineup interesting, too,' said a woman who lives in Tokyo and came to buy something at the shop.
Scrubbing brushes are all-round players that are useful in various household chores, such as washing dishes and cleaning. Kamenoko-tawashi, for which the company became known, is regarded as the original ancestor of those brushes. It was born during the late Meiji era, when the company was run by its first president, Shozaemon Nishio.
At the time, the company was selling entrance mats made from windmill palm tree fibers. At first, they sold very well. However, soon the company began receiving complaints such as, 'The tips of the fiber become flattened when a fat person steps on the mat,' and many mats were returned to the company.
Then one day, Shozaemon Nishio was inspired as he saw his wife clean the frames of a shoji paper screen door using a bunch of rod-shaped palm tree fibers for making the doormat. She bent the fiber bunch to get the job done.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
T-shirts with the company's logo of a turtle are popular among customers.
He realized that if held by hand, the tips of the fiber won't get flattened and thought to himself, 'This is it!'
He used his wife's hand to find the right size and shape for a hand brush, and named the product Kamenoko-tawashi. (Kamenoko means young turtle in Japanese.)
The company's brushes are mainly made of the fibers of windmill palm, coconut palm and sisal. Artisans handmake about one million brushes annually, which are shipped after being examined for more than 20 items, such as the fiber density and the weight.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Merchandise on display inside the shop includes mugs and tenugui hand towels.
Kamenoko-Tawashi Nishio-Shoten is also keen on developing new products fit for the times. In the 1980s, the company started selling bath brushes for health care to be in line with the fitness boom of the time. In 2014, the company released a white brush that looks good in a modern kitchen. In all, there are more than 120 related products, including clothes.
'There are an increasing number of new possibilities,' said a person in charge of public relations at the company. She is determined to develop the products even further.
Kamenoko-Tawashi Nishio-Shoten
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Address: 6-14-8 Takinogawa, Kita Ward, Tokyo
Access: About a 10-minute walk from Itabashi Station on the JR Saikyo Line, Nishi-Sugamo Station on the Toei Mita Line or Koshinzuka Station on the Toden Arakawa Line.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays (with a lunch break from noon to 1 p.m.), closed on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays.
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