History Japanese uchiwa fans are associated with summer and summer festivals as they traditionally were sold only during the summer months, and are often decorated with summer imagery. Uchiwa fans with printed designs were first produced in Japan around the 1680's. In terms of popular usage, uchiwa had a close connection with Edo urban culture which gained momentum during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uchiwa-e)
Personally, I recall seeing uchiwa fans for the first time on Maui when visiting my grandmother as a child. We were there during the Obon Festival at the Kahului Hongwanji. People had fans of different patterns and colors tucked into their obi belts and they pulled them out to dance with when the Taiko drumming started. It was magical to see them all dancing in unison with their fans waving in the air at dusk like butterfly wings. It is wonderful to be able to share with my children the tradition of San Jose's Japantown Obon Festival and Japantown Immersive. We can all feel wonder and pride in listening to and dancing to San Jose Taiko with our uchiwa fans as we celebrate the past and present.