Tea whisks were first made in the mid-Muromachi period by the second son of the lord of Takayama at the request of Murata Juko, the founder of the tea ceremony. Since then, the method of making them has been kept secret within the castle lord's family and passed down from generation to generation only to his successors. Takayama in Nara Prefecture is now the only tea whisk production area in Japan. The whisks are made by splitting raw bamboo into 60 to 200 pieces with a small knife, heating the pieces in hot water, gradually shaving the tips to make them thinner, bending the tips, chamfering the corners, and weaving them together. There are up to 120 types of tea whisks, which vary depending on the school and purpose, and each is made in a slightly different way. Tea whisks are all made by the sense of the fingertips, and the beauty of their curves makes them captivating, like works of art.