The handmade Tokyo teue brushes were first produced patterned after western-style brushes brought from France at the beginning of the Meiji period (1868-1912). While some western-style brushes were manufactured mechanically, Tokyo teue brush makers are particular about their manufacture by hand wherein fibers are flocked with a stainless steel wire known as a hikisen, this process eventually becoming a new traditional industrial art in and of itself. Tokyo teue brushes are said to be sturdier than their machine-produced counterparts, and are still made today by hand.