UCHIWA - 'Traditional Japanese Fan'

UCHIWA are part of Japanese seasonal traditions and are often given as gifts during the summer. During this season, Maiko and Geiko often gives their Uchiwa as a present to customers or people that they know.

Maiko and Geiko Okiya's* Uchiwa are always white with red scripts. On one side of the Uchiwa is the Maiko or Geiko and the Geisha-town-name, on the other side the the crest of her Okiya.

There is another style of UCHIWA, same as the Okiya-style, but form the Geisha districts. In this case on one side of the Uchiwa, often, will be a Japanese traditional poem and on the other side the Hanamachi's* crest.

*OKIYA: It's the lodging house in which a Maiko or Geiko lives.
*HANAMACHI: Geisha district. The word's literal meaning is "flower street".