 |
From the 16th century onwards, the use of ohgi gradually spread among the common people in Japan, not only as a cooling fan, but also as New Year and summer gifts, items distributed to neighbors, customers, and others when building a new house or opening a new business, and gifts for weddings and other special occasions. Ohgi are used for celebrations because their shape (suehiro in Japanese, which means "spreading outwards") is a metaphor of prosperity.
Ohgi are an essential prop in Japanese traditional arts. In Noh and Kabuki theaters, each school has its own style of fan called Maiohgi (dancer's fans) which is one of the styles of ohgi. They are used as stage props symbolizing the sun's movement, mirrors, letters, and other familiar personal items. Rakugo (a traditional form of solo comic storytelling) also features the fan as a prop, with practitioners using the fan and a small towel to represent various household items.
Although the ohgi is a simple structure made from just bamboo and paper, it has found diverse applications not only as a device for fanning, but as a symbolic existence that far transcends a simple tool. |
