KUMANO FUDE / KUMANO BRUSHES
About 190 years ago / 1830s / Late Edo Period
Kumano’s brush industry began in the late Edo period when farmers from a town with little arable land traveled to the Kansai region for seasonal work and returned selling brushes and ink from Nara and other centers. Residents then learned brush making in places such as Arima and Nara, bringing the skills home and spreading production through the town from the 1830s.
In Japan, Kumano is known simply as “the town of brushes.” Its calligraphy brushes remain important, while painting and cosmetic brushes have become globally recognized. Even as everyday brush writing declined, techniques for preserving natural hair tips found new life in makeup and professional animation brushes.
The surprising fact is that Kumano was not especially rich in the animal hair or bamboo used to make brushes. It became a major production center through accumulated knowledge rather than local raw materials—a town built by people learning, returning and teaching one another.
