What Is a Japanese Folding Fan? A Traditional Craft Admired Around the World

A sensu (Japanese folding fan) is a traditional handheld fan made by attaching paper or fabric to thin bamboo ribs so that it can open and close.
The sensu dates back over a thousand years to the Heian period (794–1185). At first, it wasn’t just something to keep cool — nobles used it in ceremonies and even in place of written documents. The fan carried meaning: it was a sign of education, taste, and status.

Later, during the age of the samurai, the fan became even more important. It appeared in almost every part of classical Japanese culture: traditional dance, Noh theater, the tea ceremony, and formal etiquette.
Folded, it’s compact and discreet. Opened, it’s expressive and dramatic. That mix of practicality and beauty is why the folding fan has been loved for so long.

The earliest fans are thought to have been mokkan-sen, made by binding together thin strips of bamboo or wood. One theory is that they developed from bundles of wooden tablets used for notes and records in a time when paper was still expensive.

Later, fans made with paper began to appear. These fans were painted or written on with seasonal motifs, poetry, calligraphy, and scenes from nature.

By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), Japanese folding fans had traveled abroad — first to China, and eventually to Europe. There, their refined look drew a lot of attention.

In the 18th century, Japanese fans became especially fashionable among the European upper class. At the French court, well-dressed noblewomen carried fans as accessories and used them with practiced, intentional gestures in social settings. Over time, the way you handled a fan itself became a kind of “polite language.”

In this way, the folding fan grew into more than an everyday object. It became a cultural symbol that conveyed Japanese aesthetics to the rest of the world.

The folding fan is still very much alive in modern Japan — and far beyond Japan.

Recently, there’s been renewed interest in handheld fans as a natural, low-energy way to stay cool, especially in hot summers. At the same time, international fashion brands have started treating the folding fan as a design item, not just a seasonal accessory.

A single fan reflects a lot of what people often associate with Japanese culture: attention to detail, sensitivity to the seasons, and pride in craftsmanship.

More than a thousand years after it first appeared, the Japanese folding fan is still in our hands — quietly creating a breeze.