Uchiwa Matsuri - Japanese Fan Festival (With Video)

[AsahinaKimi]

Uchiwa

Summer time is the time for matsuri -- or festivals -- in Japan. It seems like just about every city, town and village has some form of matsuri going on throughout the summer. Some matsuri are famous and pull in people from all over the world. Others are more local events. But big or small, matsuri can be a lot of fun.

Just north of Tokyo, the small city of Kumagaya hosts several matsuri throughout the year. The Uchiwa Matsuri held at the end of July seems to be held just for the sake of having a good time. The origin of this festival is rather mundane. In the late 19th century, shops would hand out free fans -- Uchiwa -- to all passerbys and customers around the third weekend of July.

Uchiwa are flat fans originally constructed of paper and bamboo. Nowadays, plastic and wood is more often used. They are often carried at festivals. Stores of today and yesteryear pass out free Uchiwa as advertisements with the practical (not too mention thoughtful) purpose of fanning oneself off during the hot, humid Japanese summer. Uchiwa are thought to have come from Korea.

Perhaps the sudden generosity of the shop owners so surprised the citizens of Kumagaya that they felt like putting together a festival just to celebrate it. As it is, Kumagaya, generally has the highest temperatures in the Tokyo region during the summer. Free fans would have been a blessing before the advent of electric fans and air conditioning.


More...
http://ht.ly/1e1OKV
Photos and video at the website..

[Octafish]

1. Excellent reason for a celebration.

Thank you for the heads-up, AsahinaKimi.

In summer, I celebrate the cold winter with Dersu Urzala...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VXNWSr1UpT4/SllaURFA2aI/AAAAAAAAAc0/96C68XFX50w/s400/dersu+uzala3.JPG

...and I stay cool and warm inside. "Kapitan! Kapitan!"

[AsahinaKimi]

2. The best tool for Summer is a lovely

uchiwa! Especially when out and about!