Mainly the Zashiki-Boki:

(What is the name of the broom you make?) (Katsumi) Well, it's called Edo-Boki. (So it has the shape of the broom during the Edo Era?) Yes, like these shapes of Edo Era. The shape had changed slightly over years though. (How many kinds do you make?) The kind I make is mostly this big Zashiki-Boki. (That is mainly what you make?) Yes, mainly the Zashiki-Boki. That is all I can make. I have no talent in others. (Are they all handmade?) Yes, they are all handmade. It is not that brooms are the setting sun, but the vacuum cleaners have wiped them away. (Is that because there are no more zashikis?) Yes. (Are brooms most suitable for sweeping the tatami floors?) Yes, I think brooms have always been the best cleaning tool since the early times. They are easy to sweep, and the edges of the floor can be well cleaned with the brooms, right? The vacuum cleaners are also good, but they both have their own strong and weak points.

Once there were about 150, 160 places:

(What are you making now?) This is a short broom. It can be swept with one hand. Short brooms sell better than the long ones nowadays. Short brooms have more demands, with about 2:8 ratio with long ones to the short ones. (Was your father the first generation?) Yes, it started from my dad. (So you are the second?) Yes, I am the second. (Do you work alone?) Yes, my son helps me sometimes. He is still young. (Are there any places today where they make handmade brooms?) I think there are only about two in 23 regions of Tokyo. Once there were about 150, 160 places.

They all depend on the weather of that year:

(What about the materials?) People often say Hoki-gusa, but it's not Hoki-gusa. It's called Hoki-morokoshi. I even asked a farm to cultivate the seeds. It's called morokoshi (millet), but we can't eat fruit at all. It will only be a material for the broom. (Is that a kind of corn?) It is one kind of a rice plant. When they campaign these at department stores, people often ask whether this is a rice plant or not. But it can't have this much of tenacity if it was a rice plant. (Do the end of the plants crumple like this when they are actually growing?) This? It's the same as the corns. If you plant the seeds minutely, the ends would be thin, and if you plant roughly, then it would be this thick. We can only pick one millet per stem. Its height will get as tall as the height of a man. We mow them in the blazing sun of summer, and dry them with a cover so they won't get burnt red. That was when I was still a peasant. I have been a peasant for a few years during the evacuation, hahaha. Today, I heard that many people just do that by a drying machine. (Drying machine won't do?) I don't think a drying machine is a good idea. They should dried in the natural sun. (Where do you buy them?) I've been buying from Saitama, Chiba, Ibaragi, Tochigi, mainly in the Kantoh area. (Do you ask them to plant and cultivate?) Yes, we made a contract. There are no problems when it's a good year, but if the weather is bad, they all get red, right? But I still have to buy them because it's a contract. The rest are imports from Southeast Asia. (But the ones in Japans are the best?) Not really. Even the Japanese millets are bad when they are really bad. They all depend on the weather of that year. The rest are the relationship with the soil, I guess. (Pre-harvest transactions?) Yes, it's like the pre-harvest transaction. So I ask them to plant this amount of rolls and that.

Well, according to the books, they exist from the Asuka Era:

(What is the history of the brooms like?) Well, according to the books, they exist from the Asuka Era. Of course, brooms during those ages were not as good as this, and they just made the weed into a bundle. I did not search enough, but they still seem to have an old history. (Are these brooms only in Japan?) I think so. (This is how they weave?) Yes. The brooms you often see in the American western movies aren't weaved, but are just rounded around the stick. (Did you order the hemp palm broom?) That, yes. How to make and who makes this are totally different from other brooms.

I sit all day and can make only about ten:

(How many can you make in a day?) Well, I have aged, so I sit all day and can make only about ten. I made more when I was young. I had everything ready beforehand, and then just make brooms all day. If I do all this process in one day, I think I would only be able to make about 4 in average. (Since when have you started making brooms?) When I was 20 years old. (You had been helping your father until then?) Well, sometimes. I had been working as a peasant when I was evacuating. (So you started helping the work after coming back from the evacuation?) Yes, after the comeback. It was more like a preparation rather than helping. I learned as I saw. Like how to part and how to select the head. That is the most important thing. Whether the broom is good or bad depends on the head. (How long did it take for you to make a broom you can be satisfied with?) It was hard to be fully satisfied, but it took many years to make a broom that I could be pretty satisfied with. (Do you make brooms? Or weave brooms?) Well, how do I express this? I have never thought about that, but I guess I weave brooms. Weaving is more appropriate, maybe. (What is the name of that needle?) This? This is called "tojibari" (closing needle), because it is used for closing. (Is it different from the one used to make a tatami?) Yes, this is a little particular, and you can't buy them in town. Needles used for tatami are too small to be used for brooms. (Do you make by orders?) Yes, by orders. (Do you sell the brooms through the wholesale stores?) Before, I used to deal with normal, small shops, but they don't sell well these days, so they are mainly sold at department stores. Dealing with small shops is just a pain in the back.

I can see and tell my own broom:

(You look young!) Many people say that, because this is a job that requires no brain, hahaha. (Are you over 70?) Yes, just 70. (You are fit!) I am fine and fit because I do this kind of a job. (What would make you quit?) That is when I won't be able to move my body at my will. (Do you mean heavy labor?) I still have power though. I think it will last for another 4, 5 years, but in contrast, I won't be able to make as much. If I train myself well, I think I can stay tough and live long, hahaha. (Do you put any marks or signs on the brooms you make?) No, I just sell them as they are. But I can see and tell my own broom. (Are your eyes okay?) No, I mean by instinct, like the number of times I winded the wire. There are parts that are winded four times, and also parts with five. I try not to wear glasses as much as possible. This is basically a rough work. I would need glasses if it was more of a detailed work, or else I wouldn't be able to make any. (Working as a businessman is such a foolish job if compared with broom-making!) No, I think a businessman is better than this job, from my point of view.

You should try to sweep with the center of the broom, but that is not possible, haha:

(Do brooms that can be used on carpets have a different structure?) Yes, they are different. We make them by gathering the ends of the head in one evenly, and don't cut the ends. They are easier to thrust into the carpet than the ones that are cut. (How many kinds do you make?) I make one kind of a short one. It's not possible to change the shape of this. And I make two kinds of a long broom. There is also a new type. (A new type?) Yes, yes. (The weaving is beautiful!) Yes. (Did you learn all this?) Yes, yes. (Did this weaving exist from a long time ago?) Yes, since the early days. Well, I think it was around the end of Meiji Era or the beginning of Taisho Era, when this was introduced. Everybody had a broom made out of hemp palm during the Edo Era. They last longer than this, like for about 20, 30 years or so. They don't break too. But you just have to get used to it, because it bents really flexibly, like this. But once you master it, you can sweep all the tiny dusts away. (Do normal brooms break?) The ends break often naturally when it is hit against furniture or something. No matter how good the weed is. (What should be kept in mind when using brooms?) You should try to sweep with the center of the broom, but that is not possible, haha. That is because the brooms are often used for sweeping the parts the vacuum cleaners could not reach, like sticking it behind a closet.

I had to work and help right after school:

(Was the learning difficult in the beginning?) Yes, I couldn't gather the weeds properly. My hand didn't have the feeling, I didn't get the point and I could not just pull them together. (The winding string should be fixed one position?) Yes, it should be pretty tight. We have been making brooms since I was a kid, so I had to work and help right after school. I had two brothers, right? And there were two or three craftsmen.