広島県熊野町は「筆の都」と称されるように日本最大の「筆」の生産地です。熊野の筆作りは江戸時代の末期、当時の熊野町民が農閑期に近畿地方に出稼ぎに出て、その帰りに奈良地方から仕入れた筆や墨を売り始めたことがきっかけで始まったといわれています。書筆、画筆よりも，現在は化粧筆が大変人気です。

Kumano Town in Hiroshima Prefecture, known as the “Capital of Brushes,” is Japan’s largest producer of brushes. The tradition of brush-making in Kumano is said to have begun in the late Edo period, when local residents, during the agricultural off-season, traveled to the Kansai region for work and started selling brushes and ink they brought back from the Nara area. Makeup brushes are now more popular than calligraphy and painting brushes.