Throughout Japan's history, when people cooked with charcoal, they adjusted the heat using a hand fan. However, sparks from the shichirin (Japanese charcoal grill) would easily burn ordinary paper fans. To solve this, craftsmen created the shibu-uchiwa (渋うちわ), a fan coated with kakishibu — a varnish made from the fermented juice of unripe persimmons.
The kakishibu coating strengthens the paper, making it far more resistant to tearing and burning. Because of this durability, shibu-uchiwa now go hand-in-hand with shichirin and binchōtan charcoal.
Size: 41mm x 260mm
Materials: Washi Paper and Bamboo Kakishibu with a Persimmon varnish.