About Marugame Uchiwa
Marugame Uchiwa are bamboo fans produced in Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture. Currently approximately 90% of fans distributed in Japan are made in Marugame, making it Japan's largest fan production area. The region's development as a production center was triggered by the sale of 'shibu uchiwa' (persimmon-tannin lacquered fans) as souvenirs for Kotohira-gu (Konpira-san) shrine visitors during the Edo period. Using a unique production system combining machine production and hand labor to split bamboo into ribs, it ships more than 100 million fans annually.
Techniques & Materials
Craft terms are shown in the original Japanese — these are proper names with no standard English equivalents.
Techniques
竹骨割り型抜き貼り加工印刷・絵付け
Materials
竹和紙・ポリプロピレン
Where to see & buy
Workshop names are in Japanese; links go to their official sites.
- うちわの港ミュージアム hands-on experience