Hello, I am Yoshi from NILS Japanese language school. It is getting warmer and warmer (or hotter and hotter) here in Fukuoka. We don’t need air conditioners yet, but how do we keep ourselves cool on hot days?
Sensu 扇子 and Uchiwa うちわ are very useful.
Sensu are folding fans made of paper and bamboo framework. One side is decorated with beautiful pictures of scenery, treees, flowers, and animals. You can thus enjoy them visually too. During the hot summer season, many Japanese take a folding fan with htem when they go out. Apart from the everyday use of fans to relieve the heat, sensu are indispensale accessories for traditional performing arts such as classical Japanese dance and comic story telling.
Uchiwa are flat, non-folding fans with a long handle. Traditionally, they are made by attaching paper with glue to both sides of a bamboo frame. You can also buy fans made with cheaper plastic frames. They are often handed our as free sales promothional tools at various events or to passers-by in the street.

May 25th News, from NILS Japanese language school.