Egg Shaped Tosa Washi Handmade Fan by Marugame

These fans were made by Takekatsu Kono in Marugame in Shikoku.

Takekatsu Kono is a locally recognised ‘meister’ of fan making, and makes particular use of the Tosa washi paper tradition, found in Kochi, to the south of Marugame.  This handmade paper is full of character and ideally suited to the subtle and fine fan forms that Kono specialises in.  In his hands, delicately cut bamboo combines the fine mulberry fibres within the paper.    In yours it provides a wonderful, portable, piece of Japanese aesthetics.

The fan is 27cm high including the handle, and 12cm wide.

It weighs 250g.

About Marugame Fan

On the coast facing the Japan inland sea, the region of Marugame in Kagawa has a tradition in fans. The precise origins are difficult to trace, but it is thought that by the early Edo period (early 17th century), a small industry was in place. Some place the precise moment that a connection was made to the gift of a fan given by a visiting monk from Kyushu, but in truth, the situation is obscure.

Using bamboo from the neighbouring Iyo region (modern Ehime), and paper from Tosa (current Kochi), the fans had an association with local materials from the very beginning. A lineage of craftspeople were supported by the feudal authorities, and this tradition for individual fan makers continues today. In all there are 47 separate handmade processes involved in making a Marugame fan, and at least 16 different styles.

The Marugame fan cooperative, maintains a register of craftspeople of particular fan making prowess, and are working hard to encourage a new generation.