Kurodake
黒竹/koo-roh-DAH-keh/
Black bamboo — used for premium, longer-lasting chasen.
Also known as: black bamboo
Kurodake is a variety of bamboo with a naturally dark, almost black culm. Chasen made from kurodake are stiffer, more durable, and last noticeably longer than white-bamboo (susudake) ones — often eighteen months versus six to twelve. Experienced practitioners often prefer them for daily use. Premium kurodake chasen come from Takayama in Nara prefecture and run $40 to $80, compared to $20 to $40 for comparable susudake.
In practice
- Black bamboo, one of the three traditional materials for a chasen. The dark colour is natural to the species rather than dyed or smoked.
- Denser and stiffer than plain white bamboo, so the prongs resist splaying and hold their shape longer under heavy use.
- Preferred for koicha, where the paste is thick enough to bend softer prongs out of true.
- Costs more than white bamboo and looks striking against a pale bowl, which accounts for some of the premium.
The common mistake
Expecting it to whisk more finely. Kurodake buys durability, not foam quality — for the finest usucha foam, prong count matters more than the bamboo.
