It is said that hiogi fans were used as notes of complicated manners of court functions, and women used these fans to hide their faces at once to avoid people's eyes.
宮中行事の時複雑な式での作法などをメモする目的で用いられたとも言うが、女性の場合は他人の視線から咄嗟に顔を隠す場合に重宝した。