Yamamoto Katsunosuke

Established in 13th year of Meiji (1880). It is located in Kainan city of Wakayama prefecture where is warm and rich in nature.

The business has been called “Kaneichi” which inherited the spirit of the founder, Mr. Katsunosuke Yamamoto, it produces hemp palm brooms with skilled craftmanship and natural materials. They stick to the traditional method to produce the best quality of the products.

What is Shiuro Broom?

Shuro brooms, made from palm bark, are a traditional Japanese cleaning tool said to have a history spanning several centuries. Rich in natural oils, shuro fibers are water-resistant and extremely durable. The fine fibers cling to dust, hair, and other small debris, allowing even invisible particles to be swept away without scattering into the air.
Moreover, thanks to their natural oil content, shuro brooms can add a subtle, natural sheen to floors—unlike chemical wax—making them both effective and eco-friendly.

6 Reasons Why We Recommend It

1. Masterpiece of Craftsmanship
2. The Power of Natural Shuro Fiber
3. Minimizes Dust in the Air    
4. Ideal for Nighttime Cleaning
5. Perfect for Homes with Pets
6. Floor-Friendly Material

About the Origin of Shuro

All of our Shuro products are handcrafted by skilled artisans in Kishu, using the traditional hand-wrapping method.
However, the bark used as raw material is no longer sourced domestically.
While Shuro trees still grow in Nogamidani, Wakayama Prefecture, there are no longer craftsmen who peel the bark—a skill essential for maintaining its quality.
As a result, today’s Kishu artisans import the bark from Taiwan and China, as it is no longer feasible to produce high-quality materials from domestic trees.
Without continuous harvesting, the quality of the bark declines over time, and Japanese-grown bark is no longer usable for product-making.
Many artisans hope that as Shuro products gain renewed attention, domestic bark harvesting will one day be revived in Japan.

Three Types of Shuro Brooms

Yamamoto Katsunosuke Shoten offers three main types of traditional shuro brooms.
The largest and longest is the long-handled broom, designed to be held with both hands for upright sweeping.
The medium size is the hand broom, about half the length of the long broom, used with one hand while slightly bending at the waist.
The smallest type is called the Koujin broom or small broom, ideal for tight or high spaces.
With these three types, you can cover nearly every sweeping need in a full-sized home.
For smaller homes, a combination of two—such as a long-handled broom and a Koujin broom, or a hand broom and a small broom—will be more than sufficient.

長柄箒

From left to right: Long-handle broom, Koujin broom, and Hand broom

 

Recommended for those who value authenticity

This is a premium, limited-production broom made using “Onige,” a rare and resilient fiber that is both strong and flexible, harvested in small amounts from each sheet of palm bark. Only a few of these brooms can be crafted each day.