Marugame Uchiwa
Marugame is Japan's No. XNUMX production center with a nationwide market share of XNUMX%.
Marugame Uchiwa, which blows a traditional wind across the country, is a combination of craftsmanship.
- Seasonal season
- Time to go around Peak season (seasonal season)
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- Main production area
- Marugame
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What is Marugame Uchiwa
It is believed that the technique of Marugame Uchiwa had already been established by the early Edo period.Later, as souvenirs for visiting Kotohira-gu Shrine, uchiwa uchiwa fans with a vermillion-red male-takemaru pattern and a round gold stamp were devised. However, he also encouraged clansmen to have side jobs, so fan-making spread rapidly.During the Tempo era, the port of Marugame was bustling with the arrival and departure of Konpira ships, and souvenir fans began to sell like crazy, and the fame of Marugame fans increased throughout the country.The current annual production volume is 1 million, boasting a 90% share of the national market.In May 9, it was designated as a national traditional craft.The elegant Marugame Uchiwa fans are loved by people all over the country as a summer tradition.
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The reason for the breakthrough was the flat fan
In the Meiji era, the Nara Uchiwa fan, Takedaira Uchiwa, began to spread rapidly. Currently, the famous Marugame fan in Japan is this man Takehira patterned fan. Flat pattern fans are easier to manufacture than round patterns and are suitable for mass production, so flat patterns still dominate Marugame fans. In the Taisho era, production machines were introduced one after another, and since they were allowed to use the machines freely without monopolizing them, the production volume increased dramatically and accounted for 80-90% of national production. , And today we are the highlight of Japan.
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Strengths where materials are close enough
One of the reasons why Marugame Uchiwa-zukuri has developed so far is that all the materials for the Uchiwa are close in time. In the Marugame region, it is said that "If you put Tosa paper on Iyo bamboo and go to Awa (Awa) and go to Sanuki Uchiwa, you will be extremely cool (Shikoku)". Bamboo was Iyo (Ehime Prefecture), paper was Tosa (Kochi Prefecture), and Nori was Awa (Tokushima Prefecture). In addition to the inconvenience of the Edo era when transportation was inconvenient, the need for materials at hand is a major strength.
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Traditional techniques and spirits you want to protect
Currently, about 85% of Marugame fans are made up of poly fans. Considering that it can be mass-produced by mechanization and costs, it is clear that poly fans will continue to be the mainstream in the future. However, bamboo fans, which rely on manual work for most of their steps, have the warmth and elegance that poly fans do not. The vivid handicrafts of the craftsmen create a fan with a different taste one by one. There is a spirit of living in the best of Japan. The industry is also booming as it has been designated as a national traditional craft. It is a convenient era, and I hope to pass on these traditional crafts to future generations for many years.
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