Private Traditional Craft Experience. Starts from an additional
~$50 per person
on top of our guided tour fee.
Orokugushi (Ancient Combs)
-お六櫛-
The Secret World of Combs:
Think that a comb is just a comb? Prepare to have your mind blown. The quiet village of Yabuhara, an ancient town on the Nakasendo, was once one of Japan’s major comb producers. And with hairstyles such an integral marker of the social order in the age of the samurai, combs were big business. This is one of Japan’s most endangered crafts. By taking part in this workshop, you will be helping breathe economic life into the craft, having a great time and learning a lot in the process.
On a Really Rural Japan guided hike from Yabuhara to Narai, you can add this experience to the beginning of the hike. Your guide will come with you to translate.
Yabuhara
Here in sleepy Yabuhara, most hikers of the Nakasendo get off the trains here, and without much ancient Edo period architecture to gaze upon, they walk right through Yabuhara to the forests, the Torii Pass, and the gorgeously preserved ancient town of Narai Juku. However, under the surface, Yabuhara has more to it than meets the eye. If you visited Yabuhara in the Edo period, you would have been met with open screen doors, craftsmen at work, and the sound of saws gently, precisely cutting fine teeth into Orokugushi combs. Women would sand and polish the combs, ready to be sold to travellers. At one point around 50 households in Yabuhara were employed in the comb trade. Nowadays, just 3 households remain as this craft battles for survival with its few, passionate protectors. Yabuhara was chosen especially as a comb making town due to its abundance of the minebari tree, a very hardwood tree particularly good for combs.
What will you do during this experience?
Your host, Mr. Yanagawa, is from a comb making family, and lovingly, joyfully brings his family history to life for you to enjoy. In this workshop you will learn about the craft, see his Edo period family’s comb making tools (family heirlooms), watch him as he demonstrates the techniques, then you will get hands on. Your job is to sand paper and polish a real orokugushi comb, turning it from rough wood into a comb that would have been proudly sold at market. At the end of the workshop you will take the comb home with you in a locally made case. This was the Yabuhara women’s job in the Edo period. But it is plenty of work and a really nice way to experience the craft and the combs make fantastic souvenirs.
For those really hoping to take on a bigger woodwork challenge, a full day comb making workshop may be possible, but bookings will be on a case by case basis for the time being.
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An English and Japanese speaking translator/guide.
An explanation on orokugushi from a master craftsman.
Comb sanding and polishing experience.
Your very own hand finished orokugushi comb to take home with you in a locally made case.
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Transportation.
Souvenirs and any other personal costs.
Lunch.
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If added onto a Yabuhara to Narai hiking tour just roughly an extra $50 per person to the price.
If purchased as a stand alone experience prices will vary. Please contact us to inquire.
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Day Tour Payments & Cancellation Policy:
To lock in a booking, payments must be made at least 30 days in advance. If you are booking within 30 days of your tour, the total price of the tour must be paid immediately. Once the tour has been agreed upon, we will send you a credit card payable invoice. Our cancellation policy is as follows:
From payment up to 30 days prior: 20% non refundable planning fee
29-15 days prior: 30%
14-7 days prior: 70%
6 days prior and beyond: 100%
Should the cancellation come from unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters, war and political unrest (force majeure), etc. we are not obligated to issue refunds. We will endeavor to facilitate your tour and make alterations to your bookings with your cooperation but will do so on a case by case basis and not under obligation. Should cancellation come from our end for reasons such as sickness, etc. 100% of the tour fee will be refunded.