大阪南地 大和屋七五三光

About this photo

In this photo from the 1903 (Meiji 36) photo album Kyoto Osaka Imayo Bijin Fuzoku (Beauties of Today in Kyoto and Osaka), she looks back over her shoulder. Through the paper of the round fan in her hand, you can see thin ribs spreading out like rays. Her kimono has a large flower pattern, and her hair is done in a Japanese style with the comb marks clearly visible. The name under the photo reads "Osaka Nanchi, Yamatoya Shimemitsu."

The most common theory is that a fanning tool with a handle was called ha, and because it was used to swat (utsu) away insects and the like, it was called utsu-ha, which became uchiwa. Its present form, with paper stretched over bamboo ribs, dates from the end of the Muromachi period. Uchiwa spread among ordinary people in the Edo period, and in the Meiji era uchiwa with beautiful pictures were exported abroad in large numbers. Advertising uchiwa, handed out by shops with their names printed on them, were also a new use that began in the Meiji era. Today Marugame in Kagawa Prefecture makes about 90 percent of all uchiwa. The reading of the name is our best guess.

Glossary