Oil-paper umbrella

Oil-paper umbrella
Oil-paper umbrella
Oil-paper umbrella used in weddings in Ryukyu

Oil-paper umbrella (Chinese: 油紙傘) is a kind of paper umbrella originated in China. It spread across Asia, such as Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Okinawa, Thailand and Laos. People in these countries have further developed the oil paper umbrella with different characteristics. As the Hakka moved to Taiwan, the oil-paper umbrella also began to develop in Taiwan.

Other than the purpose of providing shade, oil-paper umbrellas are also essential wedding items. In both traditional Chinese and Japanese weddings, the matron of honour would cover the bride with the oil-paper umbrella upon arrival in order to avoid evil spirits. Purple umbrellas are a symbol of longevity for the elders, while white umbrellas are used in funerals. Oil-paper umbrellas are also used as props in Japanese traditional dances and tea ceremonies.

In the early Hakka society, two umbrellas were usually given as dowry, due to the "paper" and "child" homonym in the language, symbolizing a blessing for the woman to "give birth to a son soon", a propitiatory compliment to the newly-weds at the time. Also, as the character "umbrella" contains "four people", gifting the umbrellas represents a blessing for the couple to have many sons and grandsons. In addition, because of the "oil" and "have" homonym, and that the umbrellas open into a round shape, they symbolize a happy, complete life. It was also customary to gift an umbrella to a 16-year-old young man at his rite of passage.

In religious celebrations, oil-paper umbrellas are often seen on the sacred sedan chairs as cover, used to shelter people from rain and sunlight, also to drive the evil spirits away.

In the modern days, oil-paper umbrellas are mostly sold as works of art or souvenirs.

Basic Production Process

The poduction process and required procedures are different in each region. However in general they can be divided into four main steps:

  1. Bamboo is selected
  2. The bamboo is crafted and soaked in water. It is then dried in the sun, drilled, threaded and assembled into a skeleton.
  3. Paper is cut and glued onto the skeleton. It is trimmed, oiled, and exposed to sunlight.
  4. Lastly, patterns are painted onto the umbrella.


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