I didn't update the blog for a while. I was hesitating to advertise products outside our website. This is because our stock of each item is very small (often one or two) and I though that the visitors to our blog might have little chance to shop the items that I introduced here. In the past, a customer sent us an inquiry for purchasing the item through this blog, but unfortunately it was already sold out and we could not restock the same item because it was one-of-a-kind handmade piece.
But I changed my mind - I decided to write the blog just for introducing the traditional crafts rather than inducing shopping on our website.
So, we have added new "Uchiwa" flat fans on our website : https://www.nipponcraft.com/index_en_jpy_10.html
but as always we only have one stock for each.
These fans are handmade with the traditional craftsmanship succeeded from Edo period in the mid-1600's. The craftsmen boast the long history. I feel that the fans convey the antique, simple and frugal mood of the Edo period.
I happened to encounter with these traditional style fans when I traveled to Tateyama City in Chiba Prefecture.
The region around Tateyama City is also known as "Bou-Shu" (房州) or the state of "Bou". "Bou" （房）is the shortened name of the state around in the Edo period. The official state name was "安房国" (which reads "Awa-No-Kuni"), and the kanji in the center was taken for the nickname.
So, the craftsmen call their products "Bou-Shu" Uchiwa.
The region has become a hub of Uchiwa production, with utilizing region’s native bamboos that have nice pliability for fan frames.
Here are the pictures of "Bou-shu Uchiwa" fans. These fans look simple but lots of care are taken for production.
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