Japanese Hand Fan: "Sensu"

Hand fans have a long history in Japan. As early as the 6th century A.D. in Fukuoka, a wall painting of burial mound showed drawings of fans. These were very similar to the Chinese style ceremonial fans, and were influenced greatly by fans from the Han Dynasty in China. In the early days, there where two types of Japanese fans, the tuan shan "round fan" and the bian mian "screen fan". The latter was any rigid fan which could be conveniently held in the hand. The rise of ukiyo-e woodblock printing in the Edo period sparked the development of a broad range of fan shapes and sizes. During this time, some women used the fixed Japanese hand fan called "uchiwa" while other women preferred the more traditional folding hand fans called "sensu" fans. Folding fans are a Japanese invention, which was first used at the imperial court from the 11th century onwards.
Source: