Sensu invented in Japan were exported through China to the West in the age of discovery, and because of its convenient folding into a compact size it developed in a unique way, becoming very popular among high-class women of the times, as a communication tool when there were about 150 shops handling Sensu in Paris during the 17th century.
日本で発明された扇子は、コンパクトに折り畳めるという利点が高く評価され、大航海時代には中国を経由して西洋にまで輸出されて独自の発展を遂げ、17世紀のパリには扇を扱う店が150軒を数えるほど、上流階級の女性のコミュニケーションの道具として大流行した。