Uchiwa and Ōgi
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Uchiwa ( Jap. 団扇 ), leaf fan, and Ōgi ( 扇 ), the latter usually Sensu ( 扇子 called), folding fan, are the two basic types of subjects in Japan .
History of the Fan in Japan
In the hot and humid summer months of southern and central Japan, the fan turned out to be a practical and almost indispensable instrument, not only for cooling oneself in the summer heat or in a humid climate, but also to drive away insects or to kindle fires. The fan also serves as a means of expression in dance.
In the 6th century, with the adoption of Buddhism and highly developed Chinese culture, Chinese subjects came to Japan via Korea . Above all, the leaf fan (Japanese: uchiwa ), known since the Han period, and a frond-like fan made of pheasant feathers can be found on murals in Japanese burial chambers of the 6th century. These Chinese forms of the fan were also used by imperial families and high clergy as symbols of dignity, but the common people used fans woven from foliage.
Probably at the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), Japanese craftsmen invented the folding fan, ōgi or sensu . The oldest type is made of narrow, wedge-shaped flakes of cypress wood , which can be sewn together at the broad upper edge, attached to the lower handle with a pin and pushed apart to form a segment of a circle.
Such cypress wood fans, hi-ōgi, were the characteristic, elaborate accessory of the court ladies. Made of ivory or tortoiseshell , it came to the West as a valuable commodity in modern times.
The folding fan made of paper (kami-ōgi) originated in the 9th century. With him narrow wooden spokes formed a frame that was cut into a ring segment. This type of paper fan, invented in Japan, has become the most popular type of fan around the world.
Accounts of subjects appear frequently in 10th century Asian literature. For example, fans were given as a gift for the emperor or via a fan competition that took place among emperors, since at that time Japanese fans were a popular product in China from the land of the rising sun (Japan). Fan making was popular among writers as a specific and personal creation. Here, too, they copied Chinese and created works of art that stood out very much from commercially produced subjects.
At the end of the 19th century, the export amounted to several million fans, for which mostly cheap production methods were used. Impressions of Japan were conveyed with depictions of the colorful diversity of human life, the world of flowers and animals, and of scenic beauties. Today, illustrated fans are often cheap, mass-produced items in souvenir shops and 100-yen shops.
In exquisite shops, for example in the vicinity of upmarket kimono shops, various kinds of handcrafted compartments with sophisticated designs and sophisticated decorative techniques are still offered today.
decor
The decoration of the fans often shows traditional motifs and subjects of Japanese art , such as B. Representations of nature, landscapes and scenes in the ukiyo-e style.
Manufacturing
Since the Heian period (9th to 12th centuries), fan-makers have been united in their own professional association (Nakama). They lived in streets near the imperial court in Heian-kyō or Kyōto and worshiped common gods. The manufacture of fans was part of the bourgeois craft in the Edo period (1603–1867): fan shops (ōgi-ya) emerged that dealt with both individual parts and complete subjects.
Japanese fans are made of the characteristic materials used for many everyday objects: bamboo or cypress wood, paper and rice paste. Tortoiseshell, horn, ivory and silk are also used for export.
Six specialists require up to 30 work steps to produce the highest quality Sensu, which means that entire families of craftsmen are involved in the production. The frame and bars are usually cut from bamboo. The nearby Shiga Prefecture supplies the bamboo for the Kyoto fans, which is cut and processed on site when it is around three years old. The cut fan sticks are dried in the sun for three to four days, filed and packed in bundles and sent to the city. At the same time, the special fan- shaped paper (usui washi ) is produced by paper makers . Three to five sheets of fine Japanese paper have to be laminated to get the necessary strength. After these leaves have dried, they are cut into fan leaves of different sizes. They come bundled for decoration. The fan papers are painted, written on or dyed decoratively. Special fan leaves are painted by hand with brush and ink and with colors, while printing or stamping is used for mass production. Some shops even employed city painters; but painters from famous painting schools also painted fans for special occasions. Since the fan is turned around during a dance, the front and back are coordinated. To decorate the fan leaves, the town painters worked with stencils and print models, which made it possible to produce larger quantities of fans for a certain festival or event, but also for export.
Folding the papers requires up to 17 specialized work steps. After a complicated process of preparing the painted fan leaves, they are folded between two paper presses (kata) , stretched again and folded again. At the lower edge openings for the bars are created with awl-shaped wooden tools. The folded sheets are left in a wooden press for a night or more before hanging up to dry. Finally, the bamboo sticks coated with glue are pushed exactly between the layered leaves and the cover sticks (oya hone) are mounted on the fan.
Today 90% of the fans made in Japan come from the city of Marugame .
Custom of fan carrying
The fan has been handed down as an object of court etiquette since the Nara period (710–794), with its shape, size and decoration indicating belonging to court and knight nobility. It was not until the 16th century that the fan was adopted as a status symbol by the upper bourgeoisie, which emerged in the newly growing commercial cities of Japan.
A generally understandable language of symbols was developed for subjects and subjects. They became an indispensable accessory for all seasonal and family celebrations.
Make up and decorate
Make-up and decorating originally had a magical-religious meaning in Japan and was associated with Amaterasu , the great sun goddess and the ancestor of the emperor. With the introduction of humility teaching Buddhism, the image of man changed and a new, restrained ideal of beauty emerged. The ladies-in-waiting, for example, lived wrapped in precious kimonos, protected from the gaze of strangers behind sliding doors, screens and roller curtains. Behind the fans they hid their faces and their feelings during a direct conversation. The fan itself identified the person.
Holidays
Traditionally, fans in Japan gave each other fans for the New Year and combined their good wishes with them.
See also
Web links
- Japanese fans on japankunst.de
- Collection of some subjects
- marquise.de
- Website of the Sensu and Uchiwa Guild Kyōto ( Japanese )
- Motosawa Masashi: "Ōgi" . In: Encyclopedia of Shinto. Kokugaku-in , June 2, 2005 (English)