goro-tshirt logo.jpg (52027 bytes) 1999 Shirone Kite Battle Festival
 yellball.gif (874 bytes) The place, Location / the name

 yellball.gif (874 bytes) When / how long

 yellball.gif (874 bytes) The background

 yellball.gif (874 bytes) What it's all about

 yellball.gif (874 bytes) How I got to go

 yellball.gif (874 bytes) How I got to have the time of my life

 yellball.gif (874 bytes) The photos

 Whistles blowing, an Odako is launched.  

 

 

Where: The Place / Location

Niigata prefecture is located NW of Tokyo along the sea of Japan.
Shirone is located about 30 minutes (car) out side of Niigata city in Niigata prefecture.
The name of the festival is actually a bit of a misnomer. The fighting actually takes place above the Nakanoguchi river that divides the two towns of Ajikatamura & Shirone.
From Osaka and Kansai airports the cheapest and fastest way there is by plane (1hour). There are several flights each day.
Busses to Shirone from Niigata are few and far between and stop running fairly early. Make sure you get there early.

 

When / How long

The Shirone Kite Battle takes place in early June. This way it takes place before the arrival of the rainy season. (Just barely)
It lasts for 5 days. The fighting begins promptly everyday at 1:00PM and lasts until 6:00PM.
In the evening each group has a party back at the teams headquarters. These parties start about 8:00PM and last until ...well until you decide you can't take any more. The latest I stayed was 1:30AM. That was when we finished up at the local ramen shop. The next day I paid the price for eating mabbo ramen after midnight, an amazingly spicy mixture of Chinese spices and ramen.
Saturday and Sunday are the most actively attended by both team members and spectators. The change from Thursday to Saturday was that our team almost doubled in size.
Due to the physical layout of the river combat area the number of spectators who can fit on the banks is rather limited. Barges are set up on the river to afford more viewing space for the people not actively taking part in the battle.

 

The Background

The Shirone kite battle has been happening for over 300 years. If you get the chance to visit this wonderful town please be sure to visit the kite museum and see many pictures and artifacts of the long history of this event.
At the Kite museum there is also a 3-D movie about the kite battle. The theater is very modern and the effect is quite impressive. You feel like you can reach out and touch the sky and the kites.

 

 

 

 

What it's all about.

Last year for my company newsletter I wrote a piece on the Shirone kite festivals. I believe this comes very close to allowing you to understand the reality of what goes on at this amazing festival.  Click HERE

 

 

 

 

How I got to go

To get the full impact and perspective on this story we need to go back almost 12 years. I was still in America of course and doing the basic ho-hum life thing in Pennsylvania. Some evening a National Geographic special came on about kites in Japan. During the course of the program they showed several sections on fighting kites and kite battles. I remember thinking at that time that it was just about one of the coolest things I had ever seen and that I would love to one day go and watch this amazing spectacle. With the passage of time I forgot about kite fighting and went about my daily routine. After all what chance did I ever have of getting to Japan.

Some four years later I ended up in Japan teaching English conversation. However, my mind refused to yield up the memories of what I had seen on TV. Finally in 1997 I started getting back into kites. Come the spring of 1998 I found my self using the WWW and the book Paper Wings over Japan to find information about the various festivals in Japan. I saw that there was a kite battle festival in Niigata prefecture (very far away) but it was the next week. There was no way to get off of work and make the trek up there. So I put it off for another year.

the meishi or business card of one of the members of teh team.Then in the spring of 1999, while visiting China's Weifang kite festival I met the men of the Shirone Association of the Battle of Giant Kites. They were sitting outside the Weifang kite museum having a smoke. My friends and I went over and had ourselves a short conversation about kites in Japan and how much we loved them. I was able to get the "Meishi" from 3 men including Mr. Honma, the president of the group. After returning to Japan I contacted Mr. Honma and asked for information about the 1999 festivities. He was amazingly helpful and even helped arrange for a room in a local ryokan. I was pumped, and excited about the possibilities of what I might see at this festival.

My plane arrived in Niigata city around 8:00 PM. And I soon found that my trip was going to be a little more difficult than I expected. I was expecting to take a train to Shirone. Note to anyone wishing to attend: there is no train station in Shirone or anywhere near it from what I can gather. I next turned my attention to the busses. Due to the lateness, all the busses to Shirone had finished. Even if I had gotten one, the trip took something like 2 hours. In total desperation I called the ryokan and asked them if it was feasible to take a taxi from Niigata city to Shirone. The woman said that I was to call Honma-san.

I called Honma-san, worrying that at 9:00 PM it might be too late to call. He answered the phone on the 2nd ring and told me to hold fast, he would be there to pick me up in 30 minutes. Exactly 28 minutes later he pulled up in his huge Nissan and helped me put my bags in the trunk. On the way back to Shirone he informed me of what to expect over the next 5 days. As we pulled into Shirone at 10:00 he told me we going to make a brief stop.

How I got to have the time of my life

Prior to going to Shirone one experienced Japanese kite flyer told me that Shirone was not that interesting if you just went and observed it. The excitement of the festival, I was told, was only possible if you were actually involved as part of a team. I thanked the man for the advice but figured that he did not realize the joy that could be found in taking pictures of the people and their toiling at the ropes of huge kites. Well, he might not have known this truth, but he surely knew the Shirone kite Battle.

When Honma-san stopped it was at the shop of Mr. Hasegawa, the captain of the Gorogumi Odako team. We went it and talked and had a bite to eat. Hasegawa-san asked if I would like to help with their team for the few days that I would be in Shirone. I could not believe it. They did not even know me and they were asking me to be on their team. I figured that I must have misunderstood something but agreed just to be on the safe side.

Well from that point on I was made to experience Shirone up close and personal. So personal in fact that for many weeks after I would bear the scars of my experience.

Early the next morning, Hasegawa-san's son Hiro picked me up and took me to the Shirone Kite Museum. Then we went back to the Hasegawa home and they got my wardrobe ready to take part in the kite battles. They gave me a happi coat that matched the ones that they were all going to be wearing. We made up a T-shirt A present from the good people at Gorogumi.with their logo on the front. I even tried to get tabi boots but the shop did not have any that would fit onto my large gaijin legs. (Note: this was actually a blessing as the battles take place on a macadam topped levy.) I was allowed to enter the parade and help carry the kite to the river. Basically at every step of the process I was involved and included. Also when I became tired and burned out I was able to step aside and take a breather. Finally on my last night we had a big party and everyone on the team turned out to say farewell. Some of them did so several times to the point that I thought I would never get back to my room to finish packing.

Finally, as a going away present they gave me an incredibly beautiful Edo-dako, the 1999 Shirone kite calendar and a 3 foot length of the pulling rope. I returned to Osaka feeling tired and delighted at having been able to experience such an amazing and somewhat unknown part of Japanese culture.

I also made a promise to my friends. They demanded that I promise them that I would come back next year and that I bring all my friends. They want as many people as possible to come and experience this great tradition.
Wanna come along? Drop me a line.

Edo    

 

 

 

yellball.gif (874 bytes) The Photos

Click on a thumbnail to get the full size image. The information about the pictures is attached to the thumbnail.

The eyes have it. An Odako is loaded onto the back of a truck for transport. Spot the Gaijin. I help carry our first kite in the opening day parade. Odako bridle tied up for storage. Carrying the bridle to the set-up area. Making sure that the frame is properly set on an Odako, this wizzened vetran leaves nothing to chance.. Team from the right bank waits to be engaged by a team from Shirone. Success!! A kite from the right bank falls across the bridle a Shirone kite.
The lifter's job lasts only a few seconds but with out him the kite would never take flight. Team leader Mr. Hasegawa helps hoist the huge kite. 99-shirone-goro-faces8-thb.jpg (2163 bytes) The waiting is the hardest part. Team Gorogumi tries to stay out of the way of other teams while awaiting one of its turns. The hapi coates help the flyers to quickly know who is and who is not on their team. The heavy guys make sure that the bridle is free from tangles. Gorogumi launches the first Odako of the day.
No discrimination here. The ladies pull right along side the men. 99-shirone-goro-faces1-thb.jpg (2403 bytes) GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! Once the kite takes to the air, the whole team must pull and sprint for 200 meters. The point man blows a whistle to clear the way. The "female" kite is aloft while the team of the "male" kite waits for the perfect moment to chase. The hunt is on as the "male" kite is pulled into the wind. The "male" kite makes its move to catch the "female" kite.
Okyotsukete!! A Rokkaku team trying to keep their kite aloft and in the battle have to jump over the rope being used in the Odako tug-of-War. As good (or as bad) as it gets. In the space of 30 feet of shoreline 8 teams fight to keep their lines untangled. 99-shirone-bales-thb.jpg (3630 bytes) Once the two kites are locked in, the really painful part comes. The Tug-of-War. A Rokkaku team sets up for the Tug-of-War on the ramps built just for this festival. I lean into the rope, trying to justify my place on the team. The best laid plans...... The idea is for 2 teams to engage each other. Sometimes the river helps a few more to join the fun.
A Rokkaku fighting master. The teal team looks on as 10 rokkaku are simultaniously launched from a 30' area. The team is made up of people from the same neighborhood. A team carries their Odako up to the launching area. Teams must be careful as the same "path" is used for flying and fighting. I am not sure if he did this to his hair as part of the festivities or if he is just always so...bright. Never too hot or too tired to smile for the camera. The day is over and the pulling rope is hung up and taken back to the shed.