The Fan of Noh Theatre: Object of Encounter

The Japanese Fan The folding fan is probably one of the representative images that most commonly dwell in the gallery of picturesque metaphors of Japan. Whether in the hands of a beautiful geisha or a valiant samurai, the fan is one of those objects that the external gaze has understood as peculiar of Japanese culture and that more successfully made an impact on the construction of the myth of Japan. Through different interpretations and re-elaborations of its appearance and use, the fan has become, for the foreign observer, a stereotyped object, like the mandolin for the Italian or the beret for the French. However, in Japan the folding fan is still a rather common object and it constitutes an indispensable part the traditional outfit, a personal accessory that both men and women carry. Its functions are numerous and wideranging, and changed considerably through history, according to the evolution of its features. Unlike its more ancient cousin, the stiff, leaf-like fan (uchiwa), which has always been relegated to the accomplishment of practical tasks, such as ventilation or flywhisking, the folding fan (ōgi or sensu) has developed a more sophisticated set of usages which frequently transcend its immediate material nature. While the uchiwa has Chinese origins – it was probably imported in Japan in the early 8 th century – the birth of the ōgi is regarded as an original creation of the Japanese mind. 1 Nowadays, while the uchiwa is considered more as a household implement, the ōgi is an accessory that belongs to a person, not to a place. One of the theories regarding the origins of the folding fan sees the