Traditional craft
Marugame Uchiwa
丸亀うちわ
Flat fans from Marugame in Kagawa, where most of Japan's uchiwa are made, often with handle and ribs split from one piece of bamboo.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 14 May 1997
- Type
- Other crafts
- Region
- Shikoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 丸亀うちわ
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 丸亀市
Japan's fan town
Marugame makes about 90 percent of Japan's uchiwa. Many have the handle and ribs made from a single piece of bamboo, and handles come both round and flat. The paper is washi, sometimes coloured with persimmon tannin or natural lacquer. With Boshu uchiwa and Kyo uchiwa it is one of Japan's three great uchiwa. It is made in Marugame in Kagawa.
Split, paste, colour
- Bamboo such as madake or hachiku is shaved and split into ribs; makers prefer three- to five-year-old madake for its spring.
- A slitting machine invented in Marugame in 1913 cuts 36 slits into a 1.5 cm handle, leaving ribs about 0.5 mm wide.
- Washi is pasted carefully over the ribs.
- For colour, persimmon tannin or natural lacquer is brushed on.
Souvenirs for pilgrims
Marugame fans began as souvenirs for pilgrims to Konpira shrine: tannin-coated fans marked with the circled kin sign. In the mid-Edo period the Marugame domain encouraged fan making as side work for its samurai, laying the foundation of today's industry. Everything needed was close at hand, and pilgrims from all over Japan carried the fans home.
Good to know
- Combine it with a visit to Kotohira's Konpira shrine, the pilgrimage that first made these fans famous.
- Look for a fan whose handle and ribs are one piece of bamboo, a Marugame hallmark.
Questions travellers ask
How much of Japan's uchiwa come from Marugame?
About 90 percent.
Why did Marugame start making fans?
As souvenirs for Konpira pilgrims, then as samurai side work in the mid-Edo period.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.