Contemporary Artist Hiroko Nakakita Unveils Original Fan Collection

Hiroko Nakakita Original Fans – 6.5-inch (left) and 5-inch (right)

Contemporary artist Hiroko Nakakita has completed two original fan designs in collaboration with Kyoto’s historic fan maker Miyawaki Baissen-an. The fans are now available for limited sale via her official website’s online store and Salon Hiroko Nakakita.

The first fan features a design centered on silver leaf and black, crafted with natural wood ribs and a black hinge.

The second combines persimmon-tannin brown and navy blue, with a lustrous lacquer finish on the persimmon side, paired with black lacquered ribs and a tortoiseshell-colored hinge.

In my daily life wearing kimono, I wanted to create the kind of fan I would personally wish to carry.

In the Japanese tea ceremony, the fan has been passed down as a tool to express respect and compose one’s mind.

It is said to have been carried as a symbolic substitute for the sword, embodying the Japanese aesthetic sensibility that has long been cherished.

Wearing a kimono and tucking a fan into the obi sash

helps align both posture and spirit.

Both fans are designed as reversible pieces, allowing users to enjoy different expressions on each side and choose according to their outfit or kimono of the day.

The packaging includes Miyawaki Baissen-an’s traditional wrapping paper, enhanced with my personal logo.

Two sizes are available:

The larger size is unisex.

The smaller size is tailored for women and blends seamlessly into tea ceremony settings.

I hope these fans can serve as subtle accents at the obi, expressing etiquette and bringing inner calm.

Hiroko Nakakita

Product Details

Fan 6.5-inch (approx. 19.5 cm) "Silver Leaf × Black"

Silver leaf side (reversible) – Black side (reversible)

Manufactured by | Miyawaki Baissen-an

Price | ¥13,200 (tax included)

Fan 5-inch (approx. 15 cm) "Navy × Clove"

Navy side (reversible) – Clove side (reversible)

Manufactured by | Miyawaki Baissen-an

Price | ¥8,800 (tax included)

Original paper box and wrapping paper

Each fan comes in a custom paper box and wrapping paper bearing the artist’s logo.

Sales Locations

Limited sale available at:

Hiroko Nakakita’s official online store (https://hiroko-nakakita.com/onlinestore/)

Salon Hiroko Nakakita: 3 Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 1st Floor, Ship Kobe Kaigan Building

(Business hours: Monday & Friday, 11:00 – 17:00)

About Contemporary Artist Hiroko Nakakita

(C) K. Kurigami

Born in Hyogo Prefecture. Graduated in 2006 from Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Department of Painting, Oil Painting Course. She began her professional career as a painter and continues to create from studios in Kobe and California, exhibiting her work internationally. Raised in a traditional household, her paintings explore the tension between reason and emotion, constraint and freedom. Her works are characterized by vibrant colors born from overflowing emotion and the flowing drips of paint. In recent years, she has introduced a new motif: "the cycle of life." In 2021, she opened her own gallery, "Hiroko Nakakita," in Kobe’s historic foreign settlement. Beyond painting, she aims to expand her artistic expression into new domains, co-developing products that reflect her unique worldview. She deeply integrates the spirituality of Japanese culture—kimono, tea ceremony, dance, and crafts—into her work, broadening her expressive range. Official website: https://hiroko-nakakita.com/ Instagram: @hirokonakakita_official