Sojirushi kake bushou (lazy)

Born of a collaboration between Oji Masanori and a cooperative of ‘Edo’ broom makers and a testament to both their skill and artistry, the kake brooms are hand stitched by the craftsmen of Shirokiya Denbe, of broom corn (a type of hardwearing sorghum) bound with linen thread around a rattan cane. The curved umbrella handles mean the brooms can be hung almost anywhere allowing the brush fibres to breathe and best retain their shape. In three sizes: the smallest and narrowest - kake bushou (lazy) - measuring about 76cm by 20cm is intended for smaller areas and tight spaces; the broader more elaborately woven - kake houki (broom) - at 80cm by 24cm is for larger areas; whilst the longest kake chohou (convenient) - being 114cm long by 24cm is for easier sweeping. Perhaps nothing so much as these brooms sums up so well the difference between east and west.