The purpose of this paper is to understand how the Japanese received and advanced the electric fan by investigating changes in its function, form and color since their initial importation. Functional innovations in the design of Japanese electric fans reflected a national character that admired the wind and understood the necessity of overcoming a sultry climate. Key functional innovations include: regulation of the strength of a wind, adjustment of the angle of the head, a rotating head and noisereduction, etc. Before World War II, virtually all the required functional innovations were already incorporated in existing fans of the period. The key function added during the postwar period was neck expansion. The basic type of prewar fan was "black, had a four-blade propeller, with a guard and rotating head"; a basic design formulated in the Taisho Era. Fans produced immediately after the war also followed this basic form of design. Changes in postwar fans included the adoption of wide three-blade propellers and a streamlining of form. Prewar fans were only available in black. However, under the influence of the U.S. and the introduction of plastic, fans of varying color were available after the war.
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