Totoro is just one of the popular characters ready to keep you cool this summer.

Japanese summers are unbearably hot, and one of the ways to deal with the heat is with an uchiwa, a flat handheld fan that’s been used here for over a thousand years. Now, Studio Ghibli is keeping the uchiwa tradition alive with a product called “Take Uchiwa Mame Dayori” (“Bamboo Uchiwa Bean Letter”), which comes in three anime movie designs.

With “mame dayori” describing a mini-sized letter set or message card, these uchiwa double as fans and cards on which to write a short message, acting as a thoughtful summer gift for family and friends.

Summer is a time for sending gifts and cards in Japan, and these fans are packaged in a set that has everything you need to put a smile on someone’s face.

The first set features the three Totoros — small, medium and large — from My Neighbour Totoro, with cooling bamboo leaves and watermelon, a fruit that’s intrinsically tied to summer in Japan, where it’s often split with a bat on beaches as part of a blindfolded game called “suikawari” (“watermelon splitting”).

The set includes a fan, which measures 12.5 centimetres (4.9 inches) across and 19.5 centimetres in height, and an envelope to send it in. The fan doesn’t have to be placed in an envelope, however, as it can also be sent as a postcard by simply attaching a stamp to it.

▼ The second mini fan in the series is dedicated to Kiki’s Delivery Service, in a sweet “Lemon” design.

The citrus design serves to keep us cool in the heat, while black cat Jiji looks to be reminding us of a popular saying:

▼ When life gives you lemons, you can always make lemonade.

▼ The third variety, “No Face and Shoji Screen” is one for fans of Spirited Away.

 

The background design on the envelope cleverly recalls the watery scene surrounding the bathhouse in the movie, where No Face travels with main character Chihiro on the train.

These small gifts are a beautiful way to share a warm gesture with your loved ones during the heat of summer, but if you’re anything like us, you’ll be buying all three for yourself too. Priced at 770 yen (US$5.36) each, the fans can be purchased at Donguri Kyowakoku stores and online (links below) while stocks last.

Source: Donguri Kyowakoku
Top image: Donguri Kyowakoku
Insert images: Donguri Kyowakoku (1, 2, 3)
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