Kumano: The City Creating The World’s Best Makeup Brushes

From a tiny city south of Osaka, comes 200 years’ worth of tradition in the artisan creation of fude, or brushes. A beauty enthusiast’s dream — Kumano has become the birthplace of some of the world’s most coveted makeup brushes.

The city is famed for its collection of hiking trails that span miles across the mountainous Kii Peninsula and were traditionally pilgrimage routes for emperors and samurai. Now, sporting a UNESCO World Heritage Site badge, the trails are open to the public to walk the mossy stone steps among the gigantic…