The southern Boso Peninsula has long been known as a source of high-quality medake bamboo, which was traditionally shipped to fan-making centers in Edo and later Tokyo.

Several historical accounts give different dates for the beginning of uchiwa production in the Boso region. According to Chiba Prefecture’s 1911 publication Chihō Shiryō Shōkan, fan production began in Nago, now part of Tateyama, in 1877.

Another source, Bōsō Chōson to Jinbutsu, published in 1918, states that Iwaki Sogoro of Nago invited craftspeople from Tokyo in 1884 and began producing bamboo fan frames.

Tateyama City also preserves a different local account, according to which Oshidari Shintaro began producing split bamboo components around 1890, followed by more extensive production by Iwaki Shokichi around 1897. These differences show that the precise beginnings of Boshu Uchiwa production vary according to the historical source.

During the Meiji period and the early Taisho period, the Boso region primarily produced bamboo fan frames, which were shipped to Tokyo and finished there by specialist craftspeople.

According to Tateyama City, in 1921 Yokoyama Torakichi, a fan wholesaler from Nihonbashi in Tokyo, moved to Funakata and established a system for producing complete fans locally, from bamboo preparation through final assembly.

The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 severely damaged many fan wholesalers and workshops in Tokyo. Production subsequently expanded in the Tateyama and Minamiboso areas, where high-quality bamboo was readily available.

In fishing communities such as Nago, Funakata, and Tomiura, fan making also developed as an important form of home-based work and became closely connected with the local economy.

On March 17, 2003, Boshu Uchiwa became the first craft from Chiba Prefecture to be designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government.

Today, artisans in Tateyama and Minamiboso continue to preserve the distinctive technique of splitting a single bamboo stalk to create both the handle and the fan ribs.

1. 1. Cutting of bamboo The selection of the raw material used to produce the fans, medake bamboo, starts around October of each year. Bamboo about as thick as a finger with firm insides and no insects is collected and cut to the required length. Bamboo of uniform thickness is required for the production of uchiwa fans, so only two to three can be made from a single bamboo.
2. 2. Peeling of husks The husk of the bamboo is removed and any sprouts surrounding the nodes are cut off.
3. 3. Polishing Bamboo with its husk removed is placed with rice husks inside a polishing machine and washed with water, after which the surface is polished. Once the polishing process has finished, the rice husks are removed and the bamboo is dried.
4. 4. Watering Eight cuts are made at the bottom of the bamboo, which is then softened by soaking overnight in water.
5. 5. Splitting the bamboo The parts slightly above the nodes are fixed in place by entwining with thread, and the bamboo is cut into eight pieces along the cuts from the previous step until the position of the thread. Thereafter, the bamboo is cut into sixteen, thirty-two, and sixty-four pieces while excess wood is cut away.
6. 6. Smoothing The segmented bamboo is collected into bundles of three to four sticks and strongly rolled on top of corrugated stone or concrete blocks. This makes the angles of the bamboo parts smooth.
7. 7. Drilling So the bamboo does not break, a knitting pin is used to carefully drill a hole into the section beneath the node.
8. 8. Entwining bamboo Around ten centimeters above the partitioned parts, thread is entwined with the framework so that the bamboo pieces form a straight line. There are methods of entwining one or two sticks at a time, but expensive fans use this method as this produces a more beautiful finish.
9. 9. Handle attachment The handle is cut to the appropriate length and a thin willow branch is inserted into a hollow in the handle.
10. 10. Hole opening Odake bamboo is cut open finely and both sides are sliced into a bow shape, which are then attached to the woven bamboo.
11. 11. Bottom window The folding fan is spread open so that the gaps in the bamboo are uniform. Thread entwined with the woven bamboo is temporarily tied to the end of the bow shaped bamboo.
12. 12. Window production The bow shape, where thread has been pulled through a hole, is bent into a curve and the thread is pulled tightly and retied to ensure that there is no looseness. After securing the thread, the shape of the tied bamboo is readjusted to create a window near the handle.
13. 13. Picking up the loop Thin bamboo is inserted slightly above where the thread is. The shape is prepared by flattening the structure spread out on the other side.
14. 14. Cut slicing Using a straw cutter tool, the excess parts of the framework are cut off to produce the shape of the fan.
15. 15. Heating In order to make the fan's framework straight, the main parts are heated with a gas burner or heated metal. Once the shape is stable, the bamboo sticks are removed. At this point, the structure of the fan is complete.
16. 16. Binding Paper or cloth that has been cut in advance into the shape of the fan is bound onto the skeleton of the fan. The framework is coated with glue using a paintbrush, the paper, or cloth is attached to the surface, and the fan is shaped with a bamboo spatula so that the gaps of the skeleton are uniform. Then the cloth or paper is attached to the other side.
17. 17. Cutting Using a straw cutter or cutting machine, the ends of the skeleton are cut uniformly to match the shape of the fan.
18. 18. Edge processing To ensure parts that have been cut do not break or split, long and narrow cut pieces of washi (Japanese traditional paper) are attached to the edges between the holes and the skeleton.
19. 19. Undercoating A liquid mixture of glue and powdered calcium carbonate, a shell powder, is applied to the gaps at the bottom of the handle. The end of the bottom of the handle is given a rounded finish.
20. 20. Overcoating After the undercoating has dried, lacquer or pigment is coated over the bottom of the handle, in order to add color.
21. 21. Finishing touches The part of the fan that is coated with paper is finished after a roller is used so that the lines of the framework stand out on the paper or cloth.
22. 22. Completion The Boshu Fans are finally complete.