Kiso has been the capital of the minebari wood comb since the Edo era – 1600 to 1868. For these craftsmen, visiting the temple of of Yabuhura daily to purify their body and mind before devoting themselves to their work is a ritual, a ceremonial act. The wood from which these combs are made is a rare species with an extremely slow growth, the maintenance and monitoring of which are carried out by several generations of the same family. It is after 300 years that the wood is treated to produce the combs. According to the “Testuki-kusi” method, that is, by the work of the hands, they are put to rest in a cellar for a hundred years. They are then immersed in camellia oil for a hundred years. This endows the wood with smoothing and nourishing properties. Like a sculpture, the combs are shaped by the touch of the artist-craftsman before being entrusted to the machine for the making of the teeth. This so-called “Tokashi-kushi” method enables, by polishing, to make the latter particularly regular so as to avoid the comb injuring their hair or scalp. Art is called upon to urgently sublimate hair and hairstyles, using centuries-old methods with…immediate results.
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