'Uchiwa' hand-fan

- Uchiwa  ~ Reikousho, "Dragon" ~ -

【About This Product】
・This product was born from a collaboration between the traditional industry of Kojima, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, and the traditional craft of Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, located just across the Seto Inland Sea.
・From material production to finishing, everything is Made in Japan.
・Please note that the color of the product may appear differently in images than it does in person.

【Product Features】

Front of the Uchiwa
~ Cotton and Silk Twill ~
・A top-tier denim made by twisting three fine cotton threads together for the warp, and using silk thread for the weft.
・It combines the softness of silk with the durability of cotton, bringing out the best qualities of each.
・The fabric has an overall sheen, with a translucent, luminous color that is one of its key attractions.
・Dyes that resist fading are used.

~ Reikousho ~
・This refers to the dynamic calligraphy applied to the Cotton and Silk Twill surface.
・The calligrapher Reikou writes the characters directly onto the fan using gold and silver ink.
・The character featured is "Dragon (Ryu)," an auspicious symbol of rising fortune, written in the calligrapher's original style.
・Because each character is written by hand, slight variations in size and design may occur (each piece is one of a kind).

Back of the Uchiwa
~ Awa Washi (Japanese Paper) ~
・A traditional craft of Shikoku.
・Made using time-honored materials, giving it a richly textured, off-white color and a distinctive translucency.

【A Message from the Shop Owner】

Across the Seto Inland Sea from Kojima, Okayama Prefecture lies Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture, where a history and culture dating back to the Edo period still lives on today.

One such tradition, "Marugame Uchiwa," is said to have begun in 1600, when a traveling monk taught the local people how to make fans as a gesture of thanks for a night's lodging.

By 1633, "Shibu-uchiwa" (round bamboo-handled fans coated with persimmon tannin) — featuring a vermilion design with a round gold seal inspired by the feather fan of a tengu — became popular as souvenirs for pilgrims visiting Kotohira Shrine ("Konpira-mairi").

Later, the Marugame domain encouraged its samurai retainers to make fans as a side occupation, laying the foundation for the region's continued role today as a center of fan production.

The Meaning of "Uchiha"

The word uchiwa is normally written with the characters for "round" and "fan"  — a combination that took hold in the Heian period, drawing on the Chinese meanings of "roundness" and "wind created by opening and closing."

There is also a theory that the origin of the word uchiwa lies in the idea of "striking away"  evil spirits or misfortune.
For this reason, our product uses the characters breaking through for its name.

In the modern age, what we most want to strike away is not so much "evil spirits or misfortune," but mental and emotional stress.
Stress affects people of all ages and genders, and is said to be one of the greatest enemies of both physical and mental health.

In a society like this, we hope this fan can help you "break through" your own moments of weakness.
To "break through" illness, and reclaim your health.

It is with this wish that we named it "Uchiha."

We hope it can be enjoyed as a heartfelt gift for a grandparent you wish continued good health, a child preparing for an exam, a friend taking on a new challenge, or anyone else you wish to encourage.

The Calligraphy of Master Reikou Completes the Fan

Born in Osaka and active both in Japan and abroad, Master Reikou began practicing calligraphy from a young age.
After spending several months secluded deep in the mountains of Shiga Prefecture devoted entirely to calligraphy, and later overcoming an unconventional path in life, he resolved to live a life without regret — one where he could say "thank you" to himself.

Through this journey, he created a form of calligraphy entirely his own, called "Rousaisho®."
Today, he continues to actively train students and share Japan's unique culture with the world.

This Cotton and Silk Twill uchiwa is completed when Master Reikou inscribes it with characters imbued with "ki" (energy/spirit).

That character is "Dragon."

According to Master Reikou, when writing his signature character "Dragon," it is as though "the dragon enters him, and the dragon writes."
In this way, a truly one-of-a-kind work is created.

The dragon is the only mythical, legendary creature among the twelve zodiac animals. And yet, the Japanese people's reverence for the dragon runs remarkably deep.

This is said to stem from a sense that, somewhere within nature's immense power — including natural disasters that can at times threaten life itself — lies a mysterious ability belonging to another kind of being, one beyond what humans possess.

We hope you'll keep this mysterious "Dragon," filled with such energy and spirit, close by your side — or give it as a gift to someone important to you.

※The characters on the uchiwa are written in "gold ink" or "silver ink." This is not Rousaisho®.