A folding fan we designed ourselves — casual enough for everyday clothes, and built to open in the left hand.
Most of our fans are classic designs from a Nagoya fan maker. This one is different: it's our own pattern, made because we wanted a left-handed fan you could carry with ordinary, everyday clothes — not just with summer kimono. Like our other fans, it's built in reverse, so it opens correctly and stays open in your left hand.
Finished for the left hand
On a standard fan, the ribs overlap so it opens cleanly in the right hand — which is exactly why a left-hander fanning with their left feels it slowly close. Here the overlap is reversed. It opens the right way for the left hand and holds open as you fan, so your fingers rest naturally against it.
Why we made this
We wanted a left-handed fan that felt easy and unfussy — something you could slip into a bag and use without a second thought, with jeans as happily as with anything dressier. We couldn't find one, so we drew our own: a hand-drawn check in yellow and grey, soft but not sweet. It suits younger tastes and looks just as good in an adult's hand.
The "Yellow Check" design
A light, hand-drawn check in yellow and grey. The slightly irregular, brushed lines keep it relaxed rather than formal, and the yellow-and-grey pairing stays on the right side of understated. A 7-sun size (about 21 cm), comfortable for anyone.
Made for us by Suehirodo, a Nagoya fan maker since 1912
Our own design, but not our own hands: the fan is made for us by Suehirodo, the Nagoya workshop we've long bought fans from, running in the city's Nishi ward since 1912. A left-handed fan is genuinely harder to assemble than a right-handed one — even experienced makers find it difficult — and each passes through more than twenty steps by hand.
A note on scent
Suehirodo lightly scents the ribs with a traditional fan perfume — a calm, Japanese-style fragrance meant to be enjoyed in the moving air. If you have a fragrance sensitivity, please take care.
Handling with care
This fan is built specifically for the left hand, and its structure is delicate. Opened the wrong way — in the standard right-handed direction — it can break in a single motion, so it's worth letting family or friends know before they pick it up. As a handmade piece in washi and wood, small wrinkles or a little visible glue can occur; that's part of how it's made. Fan gently, and avoid pressing on the inner ribs.
