, 1874-09-06

An American Traveller In tho Eost
Tells tie Story of their n1anufnu-
ture-Thc Domestic Industry of the
Cc1csIiulss
"Japapeso fans, cent each.''
Elbow can they be sold 30 cheap 2" asied tho
writer Of the venerable and toyial Mr. A. A.
Yantine, who has just returned from his fifth
visit TO the people OF duaky complexion, pig
tails, and almond-shaped eyes, with whom, for
some years past, be has earnestly laboEed to OK
tend American enterprise socially and CONNER
ciail{; ,. ,u-o ,,,. eo,;7 ~ that ,r;co nm so1a
know that they cannot be manufactured and
shipped ut less than cents in fact, that is
ti4a cost Of them in gold"
"Can rou inform me regarding the manufac-
ture Of fans, sone Of which are really works Of
art. md must call for skilled lnbor ?" Nearly
ali tho Japanese fans arc made in tho interior.
where labor is very cheap, and tho equivalent
Of or cents OF our money is considered
good wages, and, really, It goes good deal
further. The bamboo sticks are cut by men IN
tbs iungles, aud two joints required for each
fan. One end is spills in dexterous manner by
women, aud II you Will take the trouble to count
tho little ribs, you will find from h1t5 10
seventy in each, The other end forms ne han-
die. Bows and girls then tako the sticks and
spread out the ribs, securing the1n Little above
tho Joint by fine thread woven between tho
t1bs. Then they arc ready to DO covered, and
this work is also done by tho women and chl-
dren."
t'Iov is the paper made by which they are
| covered?" +Ah thats worry curious and inter-
esting. Tho mulberry tree, OF the leaves OF
| which the silk-worms feed, furnishes the ma
tcrial. It is made from the bark Of the root,
| and, strange as it may seem, contains long,
| silky lbro. Tho bark, which is carefully peeled
! or scraped from the roots, Is manipulated for
hours by old men, women ard ch1ld5en. as tue
| gentle handling it receives from these weak
| hands does not destroy the hbre. As soon NJ the
| rough outer surface is worked of the fibres are
soaked in vat some days, and then the pulpy
| mass is rolled and dried on wires pretty much
| the same way as our paper is made.
Then I presume =; it is pasted on the 'an ffam'
| "Oh, no, indeed! Tho figures that you sec
on tho common fiat fans are MI printed, and
every color IL printed on Il separate stone 1t II
done By some lthographic process, and Ii one OF
| tho Japanese secrets. They sometimes uso aa
| many as sixty stones one each for every distinct
| shade or color. This done, the paper Is pasted
on the frame by women aud childre en-sne men
boxing tho goods for shipment. The folding
| inches, the longest OF which arc go fashionable
ut present, are also made in tho interior, but by
different class Of working people. The shcks
arc made with greater care. ana. though tAo
| paper is about the samo, tho painting Is done by
| hand. 6omo of this work is finely done, and
| gives employment to many excellent Workmen,
| Tor it is only the best who can paint and draw
fans. There is something beautiful in their
blending OF colors, but all OF their drawings LACE
perspective. The amount Of work bestowed On
each fan is according to tho prico. With Or
dinary wear and tear tho paper used on Japanese
| fauB will laat ten years"
aHavo you any idea Of tho number Of persons
engaged II fan n-rnaking?" 1T would BIO iupos-
sibie to obtain data On that point. The work
| for the most part is done in the interior, Wnero
| intercourse with foreigners is interdlcted. and
tho ent1ro population OF the villages men Wo-
men. and chiiureD, are ep.oseG ~ Tre norts
mako ono particular stylc OF ian, and some an
other Tho varieties Of paintings and subjects
| are endless. The artists Who work on high-
| priccd fans arc distinctive class. NO foreigner
ia nerm;ttcd to hold any com mlauncation with tho
| working classes 1T present. yet step ~ step ou-
| yances ere made, and new places opened TO ALL
The importer desiring to purchase fans seeks
commission -mc.chant, and, presenting Ms pat
| tern, bargains With him then and there HIS no
potiatlons ended, the commission-merchhns Tor
the interior contracts with the hezd man Of
| village or community. and in due time the order
! il completed the work being done even to the
| e1iohtest lead-Eencu 1nnxl according to the pat
tern. It has occurred several times that nafks
or memoranda inadvertently left en- the pat
! tern have been copied with wonderful fidelity,
the Japanese worker no doubt regarding 1t a. OF
~. f HoT mnnY fans do we get from the Jspa an
nualy7" .,u ,o.. r
! hare heard it said that between 8o0, ,0oo and
1905, COO OF the common fiat fans were imported
to tho United States, principally to New iork.
Lat wear more Of these fans Hero imported, as
some one started a novelty that pleased ths
fashionablcs. The spreading OF folding fans,
aosoa of which nre II inches long, and
@ WITCH ths ladies' now use hanging at their sidea
as our grandmothers did years ago, ase al tho
rage, and have quito. superseded TIE others: others.
between 100000 and 3.oooooo OF IL 1oulns
! fans have boen imported thia year, but next
YEAR wear It is Just as likely to be some other aty!e,
t and the long, folding or shut-np fnn WILL DO
thrown aside. -,.-.4
1.The work Of fan-uaking gives employment
I, many hundred thousand Japanese, ~ l have
remarked. whole villages being sometimes om- a
p1oycd. II no definite drawings ara given rlsh
lie order, tho Japanese exercise their imaglna-
| ton to tho utmost, end present rs with tho
thousand aad ono queer sub]ects 1onna on sno
| common FANS"