Birch me quick!

No, I don't use one of these in my schoolhouse (to the great relief of my students), but this broom is typical of the basic garden sweeping implement here in the Nippon. It's a common sight to see frail, older women with stooped backs, and scullery-maid style caps or bonnets upon their heads, briskly tidying up the stray autumn leaves in parks, templegrounds and yards with this classic-looking broom. Viewing this style of broom evokes for me images of smoky cottages, autumn harvest and storybook witches. And of course one cannot help but recall Kiki and her delivery service.