The evolution of the Marugame round fan

"You will feel very (shigoku, a pun on Shikoku) cool if you paste Tosa paper on Iyo bamboo and fan (aogu written as awagu, a pun on Awa) with Sanuki fan" reads a song carved on a stone monument that stands on the inner moat of Marugame Castle in Marugame, Kagawa Prefecture--one of Shikoku's four prefectures--that used to be called Sanuki.

The popular song has been handed down in the area and cites the neighboring production areas of bamboo from Iyo (presently Ehime Prefecture), paper from Tosa (Kochi Prefecture), and glue from Awa (Tokushima Prefecture). The Marugame round fan has evolved thanks to these materials.

The technique of making the fans seems to have been established by the early Edo Period (1603-1867). A chronicle of the town of Kamoto in Kumamoto Prefecture refers to the origin of its local fan as: "It is said that the Kutami round fan began when a monk from Marugame in Shikoku visited the area around 1600 and imparted the manufacturing process to express his gratitude for a night's accommodation."

In 1633, a shibu round fan was created as a souvenir for visitors to Kotohira-gu shrine in the town of Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture. Bearing a mark of a circle around the character for "gold," it is a dusky-red fan coated with persimmon tannin, to protect it from insects, water and wear.

In early June, I bought one of the round fans at a shop near an approach and walked up 785 stone steps to reach the main shrine of Kotohira-gu. The wind from the fan felt nice on my sweaty cheeks.

In the mid-Edo Period, the Marugame domain promoted the production of fans as a side job for local samurai. Fans adorned with flower and other seasonal motifs were created and spread rapidly.

Toshiharu Okita, the 13th-generation head of the Okita family, an old family based in Mitoyo with close ties to the Marugame domain, owns a Marugame shibu fan dating back to the Edo Period. The 84-year-old says, "I was told that the fan was used by the servants in the kitchen or was given to people who called on our family during the Bon period in the summer."

Kagawa Prefecture is the top producer of round fans in Japan. At Hayakawa Dansen, a fan manufacturer based in Marugame, four people were busy making classic bamboo fans. They make about 500 round fans a day for summer festivals and as gifts that maiko or apprentice geisha in Kyoto send to their patrons.

The process includes the haritate, in which the pieces of paper are mounted on two sides of the bamboo ribs with glue; as well as katakiri, which involves cutting off the excess bamboo and paper that stick out, using a special sickle and wooden hammer. Their skills were impressive.

Ninety-year-old Kimiko Hayakawa, a prefecturally-designated traditional craft person with 72 years of experience, says the fan will be "spoiled if glue spots appear on the surface. It's tricky to change the concentration of the glue according to the weather and the nature of the paper."

Along with the progress in mechanization in recent years, an increasing number of round fans have resin-treated ribs. Of the 110 million or so round fans produced annually, only 10 percent are bamboo round fans made by hand.

Shikoku Dansen Co. has been focusing on corporate advertising. The company has come up with such unique products as a round fan that plays a commercial song from an ultra-thin speaker and another that shines in the dark. It also produced a fan that gave off a whiff of garlic when an illustration of gyoza dumplings was scratched and others that gave off the scent of lemon and orange. "We created added value so that the round fans will be used as a means of surprise advertisement that will amuse people," says Koji Ozaki, 55-year-old president of the company.

The Marugame round fan is certainly evolving.

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To reach JR Marugame Station, it takes around 80 minutes from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Takamatsu Airport. Take a 45-minute airport bus service to JR Takamatsu Station, and change to JR Yosan Line limited express to Marugame Station, which takes about 30 minutes. By train from Tokyo Station, take a Shinkansen to Okayama Station, a three-hour and 30-minute ride, and change to JR limited express to Marugame Station, which takes about 40 minutes. (www.city.marugame.kagawa.jp)

Uchiwa no Minato Museum offers workshops on making "uchiwa" round fans at 500 yen; 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; closed Mondays; free; near JR Marugame Station; (www16.ocn.ne.jp/~polca/polca_1.html)

Uchiwa Kobo Take also offers round fan workshops; 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed Wednesdays; 800 yen for making two fans (about 90 minutes); reservation required; at Marugame Castle; (www16.ocn.ne. jp/~polca/kobotake.html)

Marugame Castle is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; 200 yen for adults; near JR Marugame Station; (www.city.marugame.kagawa.jp/sightseeing/spot/01.html)