Uchiwa Fan 'Shiraha'
Flat round uchiwa fan in plain white pleated paper on a split-bamboo frame with a bamboo handle.
Uchiwa Fan 'Shiraha'
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The short answer
Flat round uchiwa fan with a leaf of plain white pleated paper stretched over a frame of fine split-bamboo ribs fanning from a single bamboo handle. Does not fold. One size.
Fabric & care
The composition is stated in the description and printed on the inner label. Machine wash cold, inside out, with similar colours. Hang to dry. Iron on low, inside out over prints or embroidery.
Shipping & returns
Shipping is free on every order, with no minimum. Duties and import taxes are prepaid at checkout. Orders leave in 1 to 3 business days and take 6 to 12 business days on average; a tracking number is emailed on dispatch.
You may return any item within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. Write to contact@yonaku.com and we email you a prepaid label.
What we sell, and what we don't
Japanese designs, made in Asia. Cotton, linen or polyester as stated on each piece, never silk. We name every garment for what it is: a kimono jacket is not a haori, an unlined kimono is not a yukata.
- Free shippingEvery order, no minimum
- Duties prepaidNothing to pay on delivery
- TrackedNumber emailed on dispatch
- 30-day returnsFree, prepaid label
- Sizing helpRuns small: take the larger size
- A person repliesText or email, no bots
About this piece
White paper uchiwa fan on a bamboo handle, the flat round fan of summer
A round of white paper on a bamboo stick. This is the uchiwa, the flat fan of the Japanese summer, a leaf of pleated white paper stretched over a frame of fine bamboo ribs that fan out from a single handle, with nothing printed on it. It does not fold, it does not open, and it moves more air than any folding fan in the collection because the whole leaf is one surface.
It is the plainest object in the shop and one of the most used, and the pleats are the detail: they give the paper its stiffness and its shadow.
The name, Shiraha, is the white leaf, and the fan is one.
The frame is a single length of bamboo split at the top into thin ribs that spread into a fan and are glued between two layers of paper, so the leaf is one piece with the handle. It is light, it is stiff, and it is the way this fan has been made for centuries.
Carry it in the back of an obi, handle down, which is how it is carried at a summer festival, or leave it by the door for the walk to the shop. Over a yukata it is the accessory; on a desk it is the fan you reach for.
The pleats run from the handle outward and catch the light in ridges, so the white fan is never flat white, and the ribs show through the paper as fine lines when it is held up to a window. The handle is a single piece of bamboo, split at the top into the ribs.
Because nothing is printed on it, it is also the fan for writing on: a name, a poem, a date, in a brush or a marker, is how a plain uchiwa becomes a keepsake at a Japanese summer festival, and the paper takes ink well.
Every fan in the collection is photographed open on the same pale ground at the same scale, so the pages compare with each other: the large fan is large, the others are the size of a hand and a half. The photograph shows the printed face; the reverse is plain.
Keep it dry; wet paper marks and warps. Store it flat, not leaning, so the leaf stays true. It does not need anything else.
From across a room it is a white circle on a stick. From close the paper shows its pleats, the ribs their lines through it, and the handle its grain. It is the fan for the person who wants the air and not the picture.
Questions about the japanese fan
What is the difference between a sensu and an uchiwa?
A sensu folds: ribs of bamboo with a leaf glued over them, carried closed and opened with a wrist. An uchiwa is flat and round on a handle and does not fold; it moves more air and lives by the door in summer.
Is the image painted or printed?
Printed. It is crisp to the edge of every fold and it does not flake. The plain uchiwa and the carved wooden fan carry no image at all.
What are they made of?
Split bamboo ribs with a printed paper or cloth leaf; the large fan has lacquered ribs; the openwork fan is carved wood with no leaf; the uchiwa is paper on a bamboo frame. The fabric line on each page says which.
Are they made in Japan?
No. They are a Japanese design, made in Asia. We say so on every page.
How big are they?
The folding fans are the size of a hand and a half when open, and the length of a hand when closed; the large plain fan opens to about twice that. Every fan is photographed at the same scale, so the pages compare.
How do I look after it?
Keep it dry, open it fully before you close it so the pleats find their creases, and store it closed. Keep the wooden fan out of direct sun.
What we sell, and what we don't
Japanese designs, made in Asia. Cotton, linen or polyester as stated on each piece, never silk. We say so on every page, because the alternative is selling you a word instead of a garment.
On the record
| Piece | Uchiwa Fan 'Shiraha' |
|---|---|
| Chapter | 小物Accessories |
| Collection | The japanese fan collection |
| Fabric | Paper leaf, bamboo frame |
| Sizes | One size |
| Made | Japanese design, made in Asia |
| Reference | YONA-0915 |
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