Uchiwa Fans from Kyoto

The origin of Kyō-uchiwa was the gosho-uchiwa used at the Imperial court that featured two sides and a separately made handle inserted between the two sides. The paper and the ribs are made separately, before being combined together. There are over 20 stages, from preparation of the raw materials to finish, and requires over 14 months to finish. Meanwhile, Fukakusa-uchiwa fans are made with one-single piece of frame and ribs. According to folklore, it was Gensei Shōnin of Zuikō-ji temple who around 1660 came up with the idea of using bamboo produced at Fushimi, which was a well-knon product at the time, to create fans in the shape of a natsume (jujube). Uchiwa fans are made through labour division by artisans specializing in each process.

 First, the ribs are made using bamboo cultivated for 4-5 years in a cold region (Madake and Hachiku). Long internodes are cut out and the width and thickness adjusted. The upper edge is then cut into sections of 5mm and the bamboo is split from these cuts along the fibre. The bamboo is split into 2 or 3 stips depending on the required thickness. Kyō-uchiwa fans are characteristic in having many ribs.

 Next, the paper for the fan is made by an artist using a variety of techniques, such as painting by hand, adding cutout-like watermark, printing with woodblocks, or applying Yūzen dyeing. 

After the two sheets of uchiwa paper (front and back) are ready, they are combined with the ribs. The thin bamboo ribs are first placed in a radial pattern over a thin sheet of paper with glue already applied. This step is called karbari (temporary pasting). 

Glue is then applied on the other side of the ribs and the front uchiwa paper is pasted onto this side. A spatula called nenbera is used to pressed the paper down along the ribs to ensure the paper is properly stretched over the ribs and frame of the fan, so that the fan will bend with flexibility.

Paper and silk are combined and pasted onto the base where the handle is to be inserted. This step is called mototsuke and its purpose is both to decorate the fan and to reinforce this part of the fan. After excess areas are cut off along the edge of the fan to the desired shape (narimawashi step), thin mitsumata washi paper is then pasted along the edge to ensure the paper on both sides does not peel open. This step is called heritori.

The 42 fine ribs of this uchiwa fan are split from one single bamboo strip at the node, leaving the part below the node as the handle. The ribs are adjusted before the paper is glued onto the frame and left to dry. A chisel in the shape of a crescent moon is used to cut the fan to the desired uchiwa shape. Next, a strip of paper is added to the rim for finish, and a bamboo spatula is used to press the paper down along each rib. The side with the crest is the front, and the side with the name is the back.