[Sara-Sara, Sasara]
Takada Kozo Shoten's Scrubbing Brush series are popular in our store as tools for cleaning frying pans and other items. Among them, there is a tool called “sasara,” which has an unusual appearance compared to the familiar tawashi.
Like the tawashi, the sasara is a tool used for rinsing cooking utensils. Now that scrubbing brushes and sponges are widely used, it is rare to see such a tool in the home, but many people use it to scrub off burnt-on dirt without damaging the surface of the pot or pan. They are often made of bamboo and are made by splitting the end of a bamboo tube into small pieces or bundling thinly split bamboo.
Takada Kozo Shoten's Sasara that we carry is made of hemp palm and handmade in Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture, one by one, just like the gentle tawashi. The high-quality hemp palm fibers are carefully selected, and the stainless steel wire is carefully bound using a technique called “tsuzuri,” in which a single piece of wire is used from the beginning to the end of the winding process. We recommend using it not only for cleaning frying pans and pots, but also for cleaning around the stove, and for point cleaning such as stains on shirt collar sleeves and mud on sneakers. Palm bark fiber is extremely water-resistant, moisture-resistant, and resistant to mildew and rot, so it can be used around water without hesitation. The softness and firmness of the hemp palms are different from those of bamboo, and you will be able to feel the difference.
I am attracted to this tool not only because of its usability and good looks but also because of its beautiful name, “sasara.”
According to one theory, the word “sasara” comes from an onomatopoeic word that expresses the sound of “sara-sara.” The cleaning tool “sasara” may have been named after the sound heard when using it. There is another instrument called “suri-zasara,” which also has the same name sasara, and is similar in material and shape. This instrument produces a “zara-zara” sound by rubbing together “sasara-take” which is made by splitting the end of bamboo into small pieces, and “sasara-ko,” which is a thin wooden stick with jagged indentations on its surface. It is used as an accompaniment instrument in the dengaku type of performing arts called “hayashida,” etc. There is a theory that the name “sasara” was derived from the sound of autumn ears rubbing together to produce a “sara-sara” sound.
The sasara is used for washing, and the sasara is used for accompaniment in the performing arts. It is interesting that these tools are used in different contexts, yet have the same form and the same name. There are other theories as to the origin of the word “sasara,” and it is not necessarily associated with a sound, or perhaps one or the other existed before the other, but in any case, the names of tools are interesting. With this in mind, I think it would be a little fun to wash dishes or do laundry with a sasara in hand, listening carefully to the sound that echoes through the room.
Takada Kozo Shoten's Sasara
https://www.shokunin.com/en/kozo/tawashi.html
FD Style's Frying Pan Tamagoyaki
https://www.shokunin.com/en/fdstyle/fryingpan.html
Rikucho Ogasawara's Frying Pan
https://www.shokunin.com/en/rikucho/fryingpan.html
References
https://takada1948.shop-pro.jp/?pid=146303235
https://www.kainantokusankateiyk.jp/syuro1.html
https://kotobank.jp/word/ささら-68946
https://kotobank.jp/word/簓-510248
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ささら
https://kotobank.jp/word/囃子田-604635
https://www.bonodori.net/zenkoku/sasara/sasara/
