Really interesting, and what a cool niche to work in (although I also think it would be ... frustrating).
This part didn't parse for me:
[...] racks of wooden-handled brushes with bristles made from rat’s tail fur and the hair of pearl divers.
The hair of what? Can "pearl diver" mean something else than a human diver, hunting for pearls? Do they really donate their hair to make brushes? Why them? What ... ?
From what I've discovered, it must be a Japanese Lacquer Brush. Traditionally these are made from the hair of pearl divers, "selected as the finest and densest fibre."[1] Another reference I found quotes that "They say that the salt strengthens the hair"[2]
Thanks! I guess that makes sense, but I didn't think it through. I wonder what the original author thinks of that, do they expect their audience to be aware of this? Weird.
This part didn't parse for me:
[...] racks of wooden-handled brushes with bristles made from rat’s tail fur and the hair of pearl divers.
The hair of what? Can "pearl diver" mean something else than a human diver, hunting for pearls? Do they really donate their hair to make brushes? Why them? What ... ?
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