Uchibake

The magnificent Fujii-san uchibake

Genjiro Fujii

Of all our tools it is perhaps the Japanese tapping brush (uchibake) which takes pride of place in the studio. The uchibake we use are very special and are handmade by Genjiro Fujii in Kyoto where his family have been making brushes for almost 200 years.

The fibre is Indonesian Hemp Palm with a tapered lacquered handle to help with gripping the brush when in use. These brushes although quite large are superbly balanced and this means they are comfortable to use over extended periods of time.

Uchibake are used on hand scrolls when we are applying intermediate misu -gami paper linings with the 10 year old aged paste (furunori). A very dilute mixture of the paste can be used as the action of tapping meshes the paper fibres into place. 

Fujii-san's uchibake are very highly regarded and all the major scroll mounting studios both in Japan and indeed around the world use and appreciate these remarkable tools.

Using the tapping brush to attach misu-gami paper linings to the Ogre scrolls