[Travel 旅遊] 2016 日本之旅 - 廣島 熊野町《筆の里工房》Hiroshima Kumano-cho《Fudenosato Kobo》

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~﹙筆の里工房﹚~

~﹙Fudenosato Kobo﹚~

For my second visit to Hiroshima, Japan, my family and I were struggling to decide what tourist hot spot we should visit in Hiroshima as we have visited to most of the famous spots like the Atomic bomb, Miyashima etc. At the end we decided (mainly I insisted) that we should visit – Kumano-cho (Kumano Town).

第二次去廣島，想破頭也不知道去那裡，原爆Dome、宮島之類有名的景點都去過了，最後跟家人決定（其實是因為我強烈推薦）就來一個自駕遊到廣島有名的熊野町吧！ 

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~﹙筆の里  熊野 Map﹚~

~﹙ Fudeonosato Kumano map﹚~

Start from my first purchase of make-up brush from Chikuhodo, I always want to visit Fudenosato Kobo (it is the museum/exhibitions for the brushes in Kumano-cho ) as all of the brushes makers/factory are at the town, which is worth going if you are interested in brushes. I thought of going to Kumano-cho during my first visit to Hiroshima, however, because of the limited public transportation, I was only able to look-up and purchased brushes in the downtown of Hiroshima.

從我購買第一支熊野町的「筆」 - 竹宝堂的化妝掃，一直都很想去一遍熊野町的「筆の里工房」，聽聞町到處都是製造「筆」的工場，那應該很值得去朝聖吧。

第一次去廣島時有也想過去熊野町，但由於交通不是很方便的原因，所以只去廣島市中心的店鋪看一下化妝掃。

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 ~﹙熊野町的牌子︰拿著掃子很可愛﹚~

~﹙ The sign that represents Kumano-cho﹚~

This time, we rent a car without any hesitation after we have decided to visit Kumano-cho, because the cost for renting a car is way cheaper than taking public transportation when travelling with the whole family. Also, it is challenging visit Fudenosato Kobo. According to their official site, you have to walk 20 minutes uphill after you get off from the nearest bus station…

這一次決定要去熊野町的時候，想也沒想就立刻租車，因為比較化算呀（算算看，幾個人去同一個地方，車資都在那裡啦，而且交通真的很不方便，最快捷的都要從廣島站搭一轉公車，下車後還有走20分鐘山路⋯）

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 ~﹙筆の里工房的外型﹚~

~﹙The outlook of Fudenosato Kobo﹚~

~﹙筆の里工房的停車場﹚~

~﹙The parking lot outside Fudenosato Kobo﹚~

We drove around an hour from the Hiroshima station to Kumanofude, I immediately saw a sign with a brush once we entered Kumano-cho. There is a free paring lot next to the building, very handy for those who visit the site by car. Once you get inside, you would see a shop called “Kumanofude Select Shop”, which they sell brushes that are made in Kumano-cho. Brushes are divided into two sections, around 40% are make-up brushes and the remaining 60% brushes are tradition brushes for painting and calligraphy. It was so thoughtful for the shop to prepare papers, ink and sample writing/painting brushes for customers to try out (what a typical traditional Japanese customer service); make-up, mirror and sample make-up brushes are also provided. They have a basement floor which has a regular exhibition about the history and craftsmanship of brushes plus a section of temporary exhibition. For the exhibitions entry fee, it was 800 yen per person. For the temporary exhibition during my visit, it was a 30-year memorial exhibition for Chibi Maruko-chan (a famous Japanese Cartoon character), however, photos were not allowed in this specific exhibition.

從廣島站開車差不多一個小時便到達「筆の里工房」，剛開到熊野町已經有一個牌子歡迎你。「筆の里工房」旁邊有停車場，非常方便開車去參觀。一進去右邊便是商品售賣處，化妝掃佔約4成，其他的都是水彩筆、毛筆、畫刷之類的。店家很貼心的提供試用區：給想買毛筆或水彩筆的客人墨水和紙試寫、畫；給想買化妝掃的化妝品試用。地下一樓大部分都是常規展覽，另外會有不定期展覽。入場需要支付800日元作入場費用。這次來到是小丸子30周年紀念展，但拍照禁止，所以大家只能靠想像囉。

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~﹙展品之一︰世上最大的筆﹚~

~﹙One of the exhibits: The largest brush in the world﹚~

Anyway, here comes with the exhibition for the history and craftsmanship of the Kumano brushes. All my previous knowledge about brushes is linked to make-up only,  I have no idea on the history of making/ creating traditional brushes. After visiting this place, I gained more knowledge on how detailed the craftsmanship of brush making and the diversity and transition of brushes from the olden time to the current days.

重頭戲來了，常規展覽都是介紹「筆」的歷史以及過去及現在筆的用途。因自己對於化妝掃比較有興趣，所以對於傳統的筆一無所知，參觀這個展覽後真的對於熊野町製作筆的用心及筆的多元化發展有新的認知。

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~﹙筆匠的工作枱︰不同的工序需於不同的枱面上進行﹚~

~﹙Brush master's work-space : work will be done on different table depending on the step they are in﹚~

~﹙步驟六進行中﹚~

~﹙Currently in step 6﹚~

During my visit in the exhibition hall, I was able to catch up with the demonstration workshop conducted by one of the brush making masters in Kumano and visitors can have a very close interaction with the master about the procedures of brush making. When he started the demonstration, I asked his permission on photo taking, he kindly said I can take any photos I want and even suggested if I had any steps that I am interested (as total of 12 steps are required for traditional brush making), he could demonstrated it by request. I sat down in front of his work desk and watch him doing his work quietly. After a while, the master explained his currently work was step 6, which is a repetitive work to pack all the hairs tightly in order that the master can brush out the unwanted hairs out, this step allows keeping the fine hairs for use.

參觀當天，時間剛好踫著筆匠製造筆的過程。觀看的距離非常接近，差不多跟朋友面對面坐在一起食飯的距離，非常適合跟筆匠交流及詢問做筆的心得。筆匠剛開始時，我詢問師傅可不可以拍照，他很熱情的跟的說隨便拍，還問我有什麼特別的想看（因為製作毛筆基本需要12個步驟），他可以做出來讓我看（笑），然後我就坐在師傅工作枱前默默的看他工作。坐下看了一陣子，老師傅就開始說他現在做的步驟6，讓毛黏在一起，使毛髮整體更結實，同時把不好的毛挑出，留下最好的毛。

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While he was explaining the process of brush making, he also mentioned Mainland China does also make brushes, however, their way of making may not be as detailed as the Japanese do. For example, before sticking the brush head into the pole (handle), in Japan, they would slightly burn the flat sides of the pack of hair, so that the hairs can stay put together. However, for the Chinese (according to the master), they would gather all the hair with a string and stick the brush head into the pole (handle), and this causes the hairs are more easily to shed off after multiple use. These detailed steps and techniques are now passed on to the Chinese and now you may find brushes in China made in the same way as the Japanese do.

說明步驟的同時，老師傅也提及其實中國也人會做毛筆、畫筆之類的，但他們做的工序沒有跟日本的來得仔細，普遍都只是把毛集在一起，所以寫一陣子，毛都會很容易散開來。然後他隨手拿出一個已經做好的（就是毛筆毛頭的部分），展示原來他們將穗首放在筆軸（筆杆）前，會把它底部先燒焦，讓毛髮結在一起，這樣毛髮不會在使用時容易散開。老師傅也說現在這種技術已從日本傳到中國去，所以現在中國也能找到這種技術製造出來的筆。

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~﹙步驟11進行中﹚~

~﹙Currently in step 11﹚~

Other than step 6, the master also showed me other steps of brush making, eg step 11, which is to soak the brush head into thick paste/glue in a vigorous stapling motion (what impressed me was only one hair was shed during the whole process). Afterwards, he used a string to wrap the brush head to get rid of the excess glue, then used his fingertips to smooth the brush head into a pointed shape. The pointed shape allows the hairs to soak in the ink at any angles when in use. At last, the brush would be placed upside down and allow it dried down in a shady and cool place for approximately 3 days.

除了步驟6，老師傅也特意展示其他步驟，如步驟11，這是要讓一支毛髮鬆鬆的穗首浸於較濃的糊/黏著劑裡，讓糊/黏著劑全滲透於毛髮裡。進行時，老師傅拿起筆，拼命的把全部毛髮壓到碗裡，猶如打摏般（真的每一下發出巨大聲響，嘭嘭聲的；厲害的是在整個過程中，只有一根毛髮掉出來）。當黏著劑覆已把全部毛髮覆蓋，老師傅便利用線，圈著毛髮把多餘的黏著劑取出。然後用手輕輕的把毛髮弄成形，弄成一個尖尖的頭（據師傅說，這樣弄是方便用家沾墨，不論那邊從那邊拿筆、沾墨，都能把墨均勻沾到）。最後，把筆以筆杆向下，毛髮向上的方向，放在陰涼的地方讓筆晾乾（不能以太陽曬乾），需時約三天。

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~﹙所使用的毛的種類﹚~

~﹙Different types of hairs they would use in brushes﹚~

Up to this point, what impressed me the most is the enormous amount of trial and error that were made previously, gather all the skills and wisdom that gained from the predecessors, so that a methodical brush making system is fully developed and established in today’s time. Their consideration on brush making is always on how to fully utilize the brush. Let’s take the hair types on the brush heads as an example. For making traditional brushes for painting and calligraphy, 4 to 5 types of hairs have to be used. While writing, brush hairs required to move in multi-direction so the brush head cannot be too hard or soft, if not it will affect the performances while writing or painting. Mixing different hairs allow the brush head to stay firm and soft at the same time. The firmer hairs can give supports on the softer hairs while using; the mixed hair technique allows the ink soaked and applied it evenly, while using. Just by looking at this small step, million times of trial and error must have been done in the past so that the makers came out with this "mixed hair golden ratio" for ultimate performance. 

看到這裡，讓我最佩服的是現今我們所看到的製筆步驟都是靠著過去數不清的嘗試及失敗，綜合前人的智慧及技術所得來的結果。每一個步驟都是懷著「為了活化每支筆，充分發揮其作用」作出發點的。譬如說選毛這方面，製作毛筆普遍都要混毛，因寫字的時候，毛髮的活動方向要求多變，毛髮不能過硬或過軟，不然會影響寫或畫出來的效果。而混毛的作用令筆剛柔並濟，利用硬的毛髮支撐起柔軟的毛髮，使整支筆能均勻沾到墨水，從而寫出理想的字體或畫。這個小小的步驟，意味已經花了前人無數次的試驗以及計算，才得出不會讓多餘的毛存在的「混毛黃金比率」。

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We have spent almost an hour at the workshop, but we needed to leave for lunch. I wish I could have more interactions with the master about brush making as I feel communicating with a person face-to-face allows me to understand the content more thoroughly.

在老師傅那邊差不多觀摩了約一小時，最後因要趕於餐廳休息前離開。希望將來能有機會與製筆的師匠有更多的交流，畢竟看展覽品所感受到、理解的比起跟對方直接交流的都是較表面。

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~﹙竹宝堂的外型﹚~

~﹙The outlook of Chikuhodo﹚~

Last stop before leaving Kumano-cho : Chikuhodo Shop! At first I wasn’t sure whether the shop has closed as most shops in the town close around 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm.. Fortunately enough, the Chikuhodo Shop was opened and I immediately get inside to have a look. The staff was so friendly and kindly showed me the brushes on the shelf. He can speak in fluent English, he gave me professional recommendation according to my personal interest and make-up habits. Even though I already have few brushes at home, I still got myself one powder brush from the GSN line for my collection.

最後，長途跋涉的來到熊野町，有什麼可能會錯過「竹宝堂」呢？最後在不確定它關門了未﹙那邊商店關得比較早，而且上網看不到它的開門時間﹚，還是開車去看一下。到達後發現還有半小時便關門了，立刻走進去看一下。一進門工作人員已經主動的詢問對話是否要說日文/英文，然後針著我的個人化妝喜好，推薦適合我用的化妝掃。雖然我已經有很多化妝掃，但最後還是敗了一支回來。店員說得一口流行的英文，讓整個觀賞及購買過程非常自在、愉快。

~﹙所買的掃子︰竹宝堂 GSN-01﹚~

~﹙The brush I bought : Chikuhodo GSN-01﹚~

~﹙竹宝堂 Z-9 跟 GSN-01一起的樣子﹚~

~﹙Size comparison between  Chikuhodo Z-9 and GSN-01﹚~

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Funny story: The staff told me the Kumanofude Select Shop in Ginza, Tokyo, was temporary closed for shop renovation. He knew that because one of the foreign customers who visited the Ginza shop and found out it was closed. She went online and searched, realized Kumano-cho was the only place that she could get Chikuhodo brushes at that moment so she decided to travel from Tokyo to Kumano-cho in order to get the brushes that she wanted. (So nothing can really stop a person from buying things haha)

  

有趣事件：跟店員暢談中，他最近從顧客得知，東京銀座的熊野筆店舖正在工程中，亦因為這樣，那位顧客直接從東京跑到熊野町買化妝掃，強勁的決心呀。

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‧關於《筆の里工房》，可按這裡﹙英文﹚。

*For more information on Fudenosato Kobo, please visit Here. 

‧關於購買熊野筆，可按這裡﹙日文﹚。

*For more information on purchasing Kumano brushes (Kumano select shop), please visit Here (Sorry that the page only comes in Japanese, please check the Google Map if you wish to know the address of the shops) .