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Kumano Brush Guide

What “Kumano brush” (熊野筆, Kumano fude) refers to, summarised from Hiroshima Prefecture, the Kumano Fude Cooperative and Kumano Town's own museum. Last checked 2026-10-05.

This guide covers origin and official standards only. It does not judge how any brush feels or performs, and a brush being made in Kumano does not by itself tell you its hair, size or construction — check the model's spec table for that.

Where Kumano is

Kumano is a town in Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture. The prefecture describes it as a town of roughly 24,000 people, about 2,500 of whom work in brush making, with around 90 brush makers based there. [Hiroshima Pref.]

The town makes three kinds of brush — calligraphy brushes, painting brushes and makeup brushes — and the prefecture states that it ranks first in Japan for production of all three. [Hiroshima Pref.]

A short history

  • Late Edo period (19th century): with little farmland, people from Kumano worked away from home in the off-season and bought brushes and ink in the Nara and Wakayama areas to sell on their way back. Brush making in the town grew out of that trade. [Hiroshima Pref.]
  • 1830s: the town museum credits early makers who learned the technique in Arima and brought it back to Kumano. [Fude no Sato Kobo]
  • After the Second World War: makeup brush production began, as demand for calligraphy brushes fell. [Fude no Sato Kobo]
  • 1975: Kumano fude was designated a national Traditional Craft (伝統的工芸品) — the first in Hiroshima Prefecture and, according to the cooperative, the first for the brush industry. [Hiroshima Pref.] [Cooperative]

What the Traditional Craft standard covers

The cooperative lists the conditions a brush must meet to be sold as the designated traditional craft:

  • Hair: goat, horse, deer, raccoon dog, weasel or cat hair (or equivalent animal hair).
  • Handle: bamboo or wood.
  • Techniques: traditional hand processes such as hair blending and setting with rice-husk ash and heat, cutting with measuring sticks and scissors, and tying the hair bundle with hemp thread.

[Kumano Fude Cooperative]

Note that this standard describes the designated traditional craft. Many makeup brushes from Kumano use materials outside this list — for example squirrel hair or synthetic fibre — and are still made in Kumano. The town museum notes that squirrel hair is used for makeup brushes and that most hair is imported, since it cannot be sourced locally. [Fude no Sato Kobo]

Labels and marks

  • Traditional craft mark: brushes that pass the cooperative's lot-by-lot sample inspection can carry the traditional craft certification mark. [Cooperative]
  • “Kumano Fude” trademark: the cooperative holds “Kumano Fude” as a registered collective trademark, along with its K-mark, so that non-member producers cannot use the name. [Cooperative]
  • Traditional craftspeople: the cooperative keeps a list of certified traditional craftspeople (伝統工芸士), a title that requires an exam and at least 12 years of experience. [Cooperative]

If a listing says “Kumano brush” but the brand's own page doesn't, ask the seller or check the brand's site. We only mark where something is made when the brand's official page states it.

Fude Matsuri (Brush Festival)

Kumano Town holds a brush festival around Sakakiyama Shrine. The town announced the 91st festival for 23 September 2025 (Autumn Equinox Day). Check the town's site for the next date. [Kumano Town]

Compare Japanese brush sets by spec

Our set comparison lists Chikuhodo and Hakuhodo sets by model number, hair and length, and the Overlap Check shows which models two sets share.

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