I had the opportunity today to attend an exhibition of Japanese kites on display at city hall in Santa Clarita. I recommend it to those of you who live out this way. There were dozens of kites displayed and my children and I were amazed by the artistry and sheer size of some of them. Appartenly, there are big kite festivals and celebrations in the different regions of Japan where participants can compete with there homemade kites.
Many of the kites were made to honor the gods or to ensure certain blessings. For instance one kite displayed a peacock and a pea-hen to ensure good luck and harmony in the kitemaker's marriage. Another kitemaker made a beautiful samarai warrior with the wish that his four sons would grow up strong and soar to success.
Among my favorites were the fighting kites from Nagasaki: there was one called the Rokkaku Dako (Six-sided Kite) featuring the face of the samurai warrior Kiyomasa. This kite was used for team kite-flying and meant to scare the competition. Another fighting kite was called Oni Dako (Demon Kite) which was meant to sneak up on the warrior Watanabe no Tsuna and cut the arms off the competition. Fun, huh? The coolest kite though was a 3-D Bird Kite called Tori Daki. It has real feathers, glass eyes, and hand painted details. It hung from the ceiling and looked identical to a real bird. I can't imagine how any one could fly it! It was incredible. (See the attached photos!)
I think the best way to bring this to the classroom would be to take pictures and show slides. The students could see the amazing imagery and artistry of the kites and appreciate the culture of the Japanese people. [Edit by="kseegmiller on Dec 31, 4:29:46 PM"][/Edit]
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