The Giant Kites of Sagami from Japan(ENGLISH)

The Giant Kite Festival of Sagami is a traditional event that has been held in Sagamihara City, which is in Kanagawa Prefecture, since the Tenpou period (around 1830) in the Edo era .The Sagami Giant Kite Preservation Association has passed down the tradition and techniques of making and flying some of the largest kites in the world to the local residents of Sagamihara.
		1997 "Sagami "

	1. The Giant Kites of Sagami
	2. The Origin and The History of The Giant Kites of Sagami
	3. The Changes of the Title of Sagami Giant Kites
	4. The Sagami Giant Kite Festival
	5. Videos

1. The Giant Kites of Sagami

The Giant Kites of Sagami are called "Sagami-no-Oodako", the large Japanese kites flown by the Sagami Giant Kite Preservation Association in Shindo, Kamiisobe, Simoisobe, and Katsusaka regions of Sagamihara City, which is located in the middle of Kanagawa Prefecture. On May 4 th and 5th this year’s Sagami Giant Kite Festival, which is an annual event, will be held at the Sagamigawa riverbed.
The size of the Giant Kites of Sagami used in the festival in May of 2005 was:

Shindo	--- 8 x 8 kens* (14.5 x 14.5 meters)
Kami-Isobe	--- 6 x 6 kens (11.2 x 11.2 meters)
Shimo-Isobe	--- 6 x 6 kens (10.8 x 10.8 meters)
Katsusaka	--- 5 x 5 kens ( 9.0 x 9.0 meters)

* ken is an ancient Japanese unit of measure for length

Specifications of the large kites used in Shindo district

Size	--- 14.5 x 14.5 meters
Weight	--- 950kg
Length of control rope	--- 200m
Thickness of a control rope	--- 3-4cm
Length of a tail	--- 85m
Staff required for kite-flying	--- 80-100 people
Wind speed necessary for flying giant kite	--- 10-15 meters per second

The traditional large kites are made of bamboo and handmade Japanese paper. Specially-trained craftsmen make a curved square bamboo frame. They then tie 16 large pieces of paper to the frame so that it will capture the wind while remaining as light as possible. The paper is easy to remove from a kite if a piece is damaged. Traditionally two Chinese characters are written on the paper in red and green. This is why the kites are known as “Character Kites.” The large kites and the paper used in them are made from scratch every year.
The craftsmen and crew of the Giant Kite of Shindo take pride in the fact that they make and fly the largest traditionally made square kite in Japan. The Giant Kite of Shindo set the record for the longest flight of a traditional large kite in 2001 when their kite remained aloft for 6 hours, 7 minutes and 55 seconds in the air.

(click a picture)

2008"Soki"

2007"Yufu"

2006 "Shinso"

2005 "Kisyo"

Production of a giant kite

Writing a title

Attaching ropes to a kite

2. The Origin and The History of The Giant Kites of Sagami

It is said that the history of Sagami Giant Kites began during the Tenpou period (around 1830) in the Edo era. The kites got larger over time until they reached their present size during the middle of the Meiji era. Initially the kites were flown by individual people to celebrate the birth of a child. Over time the tradition expanded to other areas and the reasons for flying them also changed. The kites were eventually flown as a form of prayer to help ensure a good harvest. They were flown mostly by the young men of the community. During the Showa era four young men’s associations in Shindo, Kamiisobe, Simoisobe, and Katsusaka regions began to build and fly very large kites in four different districts almost every year.
In 1991, the Giant Kite Preservation Associations were started up in four districts. The Sagami Giant Kite Preservation Association, which was the parent organization of four different districts’ associations, was established in 1994. And the first Festival of The Giant Kites of Sagami was held in four districts. From then on the Shindo Giant Kite Preservation Association began to fly the largest kites in Japan.

3. The Changes of the Title of Sagami Giant Kites

The Chinese characters written on the paper of Sagami Giant Kites are called “the title”. These characters embody the hopes, dreams and feelings of pride of the communities the kites represent. The Sagami Giant Kite Festival has been a proud tradition of the local people for many years. Ever since 1996 the community has voted on what characters or title they wanted on each year’s kites. Since the end of World War II characters such as “wind” or “light” have often been used. The title for 2006’s kite is “Shinsou,” which celebrates the birth of a new Sagamihara city that has come about with the merger of Sagamihara with nearby cities. This title was chosen from the many suggestions the people of Sagamihara made for this year.

4. The Sagami Giant Kite Festival

Every year the Sagami Giant Kite Festival is held in four different areas on the 4th and 5th of May. Details on this year’s event can be found in the Sagamihara City public relations magazine, in festival leaflets distributed around the city.

　　・Guidance of the Sagami Giant kite Festival

5. Videos

It is videos of the Sagami giant kite festival. Please enjoy force to fry a large kite.I prepare for a movie file of a WMV form. Because file size is big, I recommend that you look in broadband environment.Please click a picture of each year to watch a video.

Year	Titles	Videos	Time (m:s) File size	Comments
2008	Soki
2007	Yufu		04：11 19.3MB	A sudden change of wind, the kite is close to the visitors. It was a dangerous situation.The men were desperate to land the kite in a rage.
2006	Shinso		01:33 4.1MB	In addition to the movement of the kite, and the men pulling the rope, and then send.
2005	Kisyo		00:49 1.3MB	It is the great kite-flier that pulled two pieces of paper at the time of strong wind. Because a large kite is fried at a stretch, it is impressive. Flight duration of this time is 20 minutes.
2004	Syukuso		01:21 2.5MB	A majestic figure of the large kite which I suffer wind, and get up from the ground is impressive.
2004	Syukuso		01:29 2.7MB	It is the great kite-flier that it watched from behind. A large kite rising lightly does not let you feel a little less than 1t weight.
2001	Kifu		00:56 1.8MB	A large kite passes it over people raising a large kite. They need quick movement so that danger is accompanied.