About FANO

Introduction

FANO is a handheld fan made from recycled paper cranes sent to Hiroshima.

More than a functional item for generating cool breezes, FANO makes an ideal premium or corporate gift for businesses and organisations interested in promoting peace and sustainability. It makes a meaningful and original souvenir or promotional item for concerts, events and marketing campaigns.

FANO is the ‘reincarnation’ of lovingly made forizuru paper cranes sent to Hiroshima from within Japan and around the globe, totalling 10 million per year and weighing 10 tons. In supporting the paper crane projects helmed by the city of Hiroshima, we hope to convey our appreciation to the original well wishers and crafters who made and sent the cranes. With the aid of creative thinking and innovative technology, we have transformed them into something original, useful and uniquely Japanese.

To the paper crane makers of the world – thank you.

It is our sincere hope that your paper cranes, reborn as FANO, will spread winds of peace and positive change throughout the world.

Producer
Michiyo Tanabe
Graphic Design
Yuji Imanishi
Production&Sales
Camino Co.,Ltd.
Paper Crane Recycled Pulp Production
Nissey Sango Co.,Ltd.

Message from the producer

It began with a chance encounter in Avignon, France on 15 August 2015, at the end of the anniversary of WWII in Japan. We were inexplicably drawn to a promotional item handed out to the spectators of the Tour de France almost 100 years ago – a beautiful paper fan, bearing a sponsor’s logo.

The fan hailed from the era of ‘Japonisme’, when Impressionist artists such as Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh became besotted with all things Japanese – culture, craftsmanship and creativity. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, in particular, were a source of abundant inspiration. The movement was not limited to the art world – the fashion world was also hooked on Japonisme, with couturiers fascinated by the Japanese handheld fans in daily use. This period came to be known as the Belle Époque – the cradle of the concept behind FANO.

On 6 August every year, a day the world must never forget, a Peace Ceremony is held in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Some 10 million precious orizuru paper cranes, weighing 10 tons, are sent from around the world to the Children’s Peace Monument. A thought suddenly occurred to us. How wonderful it would be if these paper cranes could be recycled and reborn as something that could continue spreading a message of peace and joy to the world. And so we imagined – and later realised – the vision of FANO.

Today, Nissey Sangyo Co.,Ltd. is recycling the lovingly made cranes into paper pulp. With that pulp, Camino Co., Ltd. develops, makes and markets FANO, the first in a series of recycled orizuru products.

The prototype for FANO – a fan made from recycled orizuru paper cranes – arrived in Japan from France on 15 August 2014. It was finessed in 2015, stirring memories of that beautiful bygone era, and bearing the wishes for peace of a thousand cranes.

We cannot relive the past, but we can rekindle its spirit. We cannot thank every individual whose wishes for peace were sent on the wings of paper cranes, but we can relay their hopes and dreams by transforming them into objects that touch the lives of many. Every FANO circulates prayers for world peace, and conveys our deepest gratitude for the moment of revelation that visited us on the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.

August 2015 Michiyo Tanabe, Producer

Michiyo Tanabe

Ms. Tanabe was born in Shizuoka, Japan. After studying design at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, she moved to Paris and began her career as an attaché de presse for apparel brands. From 1984, Ms. Tanabe supported the TAKEO KIKUCHI menswear brand as chief attaché de presse.

In 1999, with the opening of CAFÉ M in Lake Saiko, Yamanashi, she raised the profile of the hitherto overlooked lake, transforming it into a popular destination for visitors.

From 2002 – 2010, she worked as an advisor to the public relations office of the fashion company JUN Co., Ltd.

In 2005, having deemed conventional paper plates unsuitable for Japanese food, she developed and produced WASARA, a stylish and environmentally friendly paper plate, which is currently available around the world. URL: http://www.wasara.jp/

In May 2015, she was closely involved with the launch of ‘Takeo Kikuchi’s Book’, published by Magazine House.

In November 2012, she curated the opening of the Takeo Kikuchi flagship store.

Since April 2015, she has been the producer for FANO at Camino Co., Ltd..