Kite Flying Event www3.nhk.or.jp

posted by  Tanuki | 7 years, 7 months ago in Lifestyle

Kite fanciers in central Japan are hard at work crafting giant kites in preparation for traditional aerial battles across a local river. The June event dates back more than 300 years.

Members of a kite museum in Mitsuke City, Niigata Prefecture, are hand-building frames from bamboo and hemp twine for hexagonal kites measuring more than 13 square meters.

They then paste about 100 sheets of white Japanese paper onto the frames. A variety of designs, including samurai portraits, will later be painted on them.

In the battles in early June, 2 teams fly their kites over the river between Mitsuke and Nagaoka cities.