Becoming a Fan of Uchiwa
Amongst the Ikimono collection are some unusual artefacts, rarely seen outside Japan. April’s banner in Ikimono on Etsy (www.etsy.com/shop/ikimono) is part of the paper design of a round Japanese fan, called “Uchiwa”.
Uchiwa are flat, non-folding Japanese fans which have been a familiar part of daily life for all classes in Japan since ancient times. Many people think of the folding style fan as most common to Japan. These are much harder to make and thus also more expensive.
The “uchiwa” is an important Japanese handicraft, borrowed from China, with a long tradition. It is made by cutting a bamboo tube into narrow lengths which are then splayed out in the radial shape of a fan. Hand made washi paper in an unending array of designs is pasted over both sides of this bamboo frame.
During the Heian period (794-1185), fans displaying intricate designs were used as ceremonial items at the Imperial court and as accessories by the aristocracy. They later became a common prop for performing arts like Japanese classical dancing, Noh plays and farce, and for the tea ceremony. Uchiwa were widely used among ordinary people in the Edo period. They were a necessity especially in summer to cool off and to keep mosquitoes away, as well as an essential tool for stoking up a cooking fire.
The uchiwa business is tough nowadays. People use uchiwa only occasionally as lifestyles have drastically changed.
One uchiwa store in Kyoto has been run by the same family since the Edo period (1600-1868). According to Komaruya’s own legend, their business of making uchiwa began on order of the Imperial court, using the bamboo that grew luxuriantly at Fukakusa, Kyoto. In the middle of the 17th century, the founder of Komaruya, heeding the advice of Gensei-shonin, a Buddhist priest, designed the original uchiwa with its distinctive long and slightly top-heavy shape and called it the Fukakusa uchiwa.
The Fukakusa uchiwa fell into disuse for a long time, but the business hopes to revive by producing souvenir fans for tourists to take home. Komaruya has been laying in a stock of handmade uchiwa frames of bamboo from the town of Marugame in Shikoku.
But the main threat to this revival, as with the production of many traditional Japanese artefacts is that there is an acute lack of skilled craftsmen. People who can make uchiwa frames by hand are getting old and it is difficult to find young people willing to enter the trade. As a result, most uchiwa frames are machine-made in China. The craftsman, now 73 years old, who makes bamboo frames for Komaruya has no successor.
Faced with the drying up of her frame supply, Sumii decided to recruit young people who might be motivated in bamboo craftsmanship and send them to Marugame for training at her own cost, even though there is no guarantee they will take up the trade.
Kyoto’s old people still believe that the uchiwa is properly used, not to fan oneself, but to fan others. For them, the uchiwa is a small tool for expressing gratitude, respect and sincere appreciation for others. Komaruya spokeswoman, Keiko Sumii said, “It would be great if our Fukakusa uchiwa could be used to ease stress and make others feel happy”.
Find out more about uchiwa from:
http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/thismonth/uchiwa.html
