Japan’s ‘Giant Kite Battle’ festival – How a story of retaliation turned into tradition
300km west of Tokyo in the heart of Niigata prefecture lies Shirone, a modest city with a yearly festival that is quite unique - even for Japan.
In early June every year, Shirone hosts its annual ‘Giant Kite Battle’ festival – otherwise known as Tako-kichi matsuri over the Nakanokuchi river in Shirone. Tako as well as meaning ‘octopus’ in Japanese, also means ‘kite’ and kichi means ‘crazy’ while matsuri means ‘festival’ - making this event officially the ‘kite crazy festival’. People travel from all over Japan to experience the Tako-kichi matsuri in Niigata and once you’ve experienced it, its not hard to see why.
The northward current of the river combined with the northern winds play a significant role in getting the giant kites up in the sky, but it’s the teamwork of the participants and their competitive spirit that make the kite battle such an exciting event to watch.
Retaliation turned Tradition
The Tako-kichi matsuri has stood the test of time and has been a tradition for Shirone for over three centuries. The origins of the festival date back to Japan’s Edo period when new walls were built along the banks of the Nakanokuchi river in Shirone to help prevent flooding. It is said that a local on the Shirone side of the river accidently crashed onto a rice field on the west side of Shirone, causing significant damage to some crops in the process.
The locals on the west side of Shirone were outraged by this and chose to retaliate by crashing kites of their own onto the Shirone side of the river. It is not clear how this retaliation turned into a yearly tradition and yet remarkably, we still continue to enjoy the festival over 300 years later.
Battle over the Nakanokuchi river
The battle itself consists of two teams, each situated on either side of the Nakanokuchi river. Both teams start by charging down the river bank while holding the rope of their giant kites to get them in the air.
Once the kites are airborne, the participants try to get their kites to clash over the Nakanokuchi river, taking advantage of the northward winds as well as the rivers current. Once the kites connect, the battle is on as both teams begin to pull the ropes of their kites vigorously in a game of tug of war. The tug of war gets everybody on all sides of the river fired up and leads to chants of ‘wasshoi, wasshoi’ as the participants engage in battle.
The battle continues until one teams rope breaks first – leaving a clear winner and loser. However, this was not the case in 1932’s giant kite battle as the tug of war lasted over 4 hours until nightfall and there was no choice but to end the match in a draw.
Once the winners are declared, they celebrate by chanting ‘banzai’ in jubilation, while the losing team get to work on preparing a new kite for the next battle. When the final battle is over – an exhilarating fireworks display is held along the river for everyone to enjoy.
Shirone kites
Shirone kites have a strong reputation in Japan and are considered special as they are crafted in such a way that helps them fly and fight over the stream of the Nakanokuchi river. They are made using bamboo frames which are then covered using ‘washi’ (Japanese hand-made paper) that either display the traditional crest of the team or a different design.
The majority of Shirone kites use designs based on famous Japanese warriors, kabuki characters, and faces from Japanese mythology. All of the designs are expressed in the form of Ukiyo-e (a traditional style of Japanese of art) that flourished through the 17th to 19th centuries and look spectacular when paired with the craftsmanship of a Shirone kite.
The kites that take place in the battle are divided into two categories – giant rectangular kites which are called ‘odako’ and smaller hexagonal kites called ‘rokkaku-dako’. ‘Odako’ kites are 23 x 16.5 feet and require between 40 and 50 people to fly which gives you a sense of the amount of co-ordination that is needed to get the kite up and away.
Each of the 13 teams make about 15 to 30 giant ‘odako’ kites for the battle. In addition, there are usually around 1200 of the smaller ‘rokkaku-dako’ kites which are 10 x 6.5 feet in size. The ‘rokkaku-dako’ kites are flown by 50 different teams comprised of community associations and kite hobbyists who can spend up to 6 months building their kites for the battle.
There is no doubt that the thrilling action of the festival is responsible for its longevity but there is also another key reason. As part of the festival, there is also a competition which is held for children to fly their very own 12 x 9 feet rectangular kites. This competition garners the spirit of the local children with the hope that they will keep the festival alive for future generations.
Shirone gains international recognition for its giant kites
The Shirone kite festival is a source of pride of the people of Shirone and as such the festival has gained international recognition throughout the years. In 1976, 16 Shirone ‘rokkaku-dako’ kites were displayed at the World Kite Exhibition, generating much interest in their unique design and origin story. A few years after in 1979, the giant Shirone ‘odako’ kites were put on display over Seattle in the United States to the delight of the city’s residents.
If you happen to be in Niigata outside of June, you can still experience the magic of Shirone kites from previous battles which are proudly displayed in the Shirone Odako museum. The museum is renowned for being the world’s largest permanent kite exhibition and a great way to immerse yourself in the history of the Shirone Giant Kite Battle.
The battle may have started as a story of retaliation, but over three centuries it evolved into a story about community spirit and dedication for us all to enjoy to this very day.