BOSHU UCHIWA / BOSHU FANS
About 130 years ago / 1890s / Meiji Period (1868–1912)
Boshu fans began with southern Chiba supplying local medake bamboo to Tokyo fan wholesalers. Rib processing expanded in the 1890s, and complete fan production grew in the 1920s. After many Tokyo wholesalers were devastated by the Great Kanto Earthquake, more of the production process shifted permanently to Boshu.
In Japan, Boshu is counted with Marugame and Kyoto among the three major traditional fan regions. A round bamboo handle continues into dozens of split ribs, creating the characteristic graceful frame. Today the fans remain both practical summer tools and regional craft souvenirs.
One bamboo culm may be split into forty-eight to sixty-four ribs. In the fishing communities of the region, fan making also became important home-based work for women and older residents while men were at sea. The rhythm of local life itself became part of the production system.