Kites have ben a part of Japanese culture since about the 7th century, when it is thought that Chinese Buddhists brought them to Japan. While it is true that Japanese culture owes a lot to the Chinese (and are the Japanese are loathe to admit it), the Japanese folk began to develop their own distinctive kite designs.
There are records showing that along with usage in religious ceremonies, tako were also used in the construction industry to lift tiles up to rooftops.
Some of you may not be aware of my love for pioneer aviation, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover that there's a neat Japanese story set in the 12th century.
Apparently a warrior named Minamoto-no-Tametomo was exiled with his son to the island of Hachijo-jima (jima means island) about about 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of mainland Japan. Feeling sad for his son's lonliness, he created a large kite on the boy could escape with a good wind. He made it, or so the story goes. Since I'm guessing that there was no way they had 100 kilometres worth of 'string', I'm assuming once aloft, the winds bore the kite as an early form of hang-gliding.
During the Edo-jidai (Edo period) of 1603-1867 when Japan closed off its borders to all foreigners (also to keep the Japanese in - more on that HERE), Japanese kite building really took off, if you'll pardon the pun. It's said that that each region in Japan developed a kite with its own distinct shape, leading up to 130 different types of kites.
Then, as now, kites are decorated with scenes or characters from Japanese folklore and mythology, or still maintain that religious feeling that the kite was first used for back in the 7th century.
Check out the photo above of a miniature, decorative kite I have. Like all Japanese tako, it's painted with bright natural dies, including sumi (black ink) and are made from hand-made paper called washi for the skin and bamboo or cypress for the bones--English terms later used in early aviation.
Utilizing Kanji, a Japanese alphabet very similar to Chinese, it is made from two symbols meaning wind and cloth, which when combines mean tako. Check out the symbol to the right. The outer one that looks like a mathematical pi sign is 'wind' (kaze), and the inner one that looks like the pointy end of a trident is 'cloth' (nuno).
Nowadays, kites are flown on Boy's Day (Tango-no-Sekku) Festival on May 5th of each year. As well, temples holding religious festivals continue to fly kites, and January 1 (New Year's Day - is called 'shogatsu' in Japan) is also another tradition flying time. Though before 1873, New Year's Day was celebrated according to the Chinese lunar calendar (so some time in February) - see, I told you they took a lot from China!
During harvest season, kites may have a stalk of rice attached to it, and flown up high to the gods as appreciation for a good rice crop. Other symbolic flights are done when a kite painted with the face of a demon is meant to ward off evil. Personally, I don't get that one. Why use a demon to ward off evil? Wouldn't it be better to use a force of good to ward off evil? Or are Japanese demons considered good? I may have to look into that one. It's possible considering the O-Bon festival (Read about that HERE) that welcomes the dead back to Earth is really about the dead getting a three-day pass from Hell... as that is where the Japanese believe the dead's spirit resides.
Somewhere, a tree ate my kite. Good grief,
Andrew Joseph
Today's title is by The 5th Dimension - FLY here. I couldn't find one about kites.
Today's title is by The 5th Dimension - FLY here. I couldn't find one about kites.
