Sunday, June 29, 2008

Wooden Kite


This kite, made by "Takoaki", is made of wood that is very thin. It has a nice smell of wood.
Naturally this kite can be flown though it is a little heavier than the paper-made. It will also be a good item to decorate a room.

Monday, June 23, 2008

How to make a 40pcs Kite Train

Let's make a 40 Washi Kite Train.


Materials
Washi sail 40pcs
Bamboo sticks(1.8mm) 80pcs
Bamboo sticks(2.4mm) 80pcs
Connector 40pcs
Seal with a hole 40pcs
Paper tab 200pcs
Tail 43pcs
Paper tape for tail 40pcs


Directions
Decorate the paper front with whatever design
you like. The paper front is slightly smooth.
Turn the paper over. To reinforce the hole,
stick a hole seal on the paper back to meet
the hole position.
Put 2 bamboo sticks(1.8mm) to the sail with
paper tabs. Put a connector.



Put 2 bamboo sticks(2.4mm) to the sail with
paper tabs.







Attach a tail to the paper front with a paper
seal. Note: Attach 2pcs per kite to the top 3
kites of the train.








Mark the line at the intervals of 1m.








Take off the wire from tag.
Using this wire, pass the line through the
kites.





Move each kite to each of the marked intervals.











The hole position is as illustrated.







Use the rubber band as stopper.
As illustrated, tie the line with a rubber
band.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Yokaichi Kite Festival

The Yokaichi kite festival began during the Edo period(about 300 years ago) and is one of the largest festivals in Japan. It is held on the fourth Sunday of May every year and this year there were more than 20,000 visitors.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

How to make a star kite




Let's make a star kite.

Materials
Plastic sail 1
Connector 1
Bamboo stick(205mm) 1
Bamboo stick(225mm) 2
Bamboo stick(228mm) 2
Rubber band 2
Tail 2
String 1


Directions
1. Insert a bamboo stick(205mm) into a connector
and put this stick to the sail with scotch tape.







2. Insert other bamboo sticks into the connector
and put them to the sail with scotch tape.








3. Attach the tails with scotch tape.










4. Use the rubber band as stopper. As illustrated,
tie the line with a rubber band.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Takoaki's Kites



These kites,"Sakata Kintoki" and "Inokuma Nyudo", were made by a kite craftsman whose name is "Takoaki". He specializes in traditional kites and makes kites also for foreign customers.
Takoaki's blog(Japanese): http://jblog.takoaki.com/

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Himedaruma Kite


When the legendary Empress(Jingu Kogo) stayed in Matsuyama in the Shikoku, she realized that she was pregnant and she asked to make a doll for the purposes of easy delivery and health of her child. People say that this is the origin of the Himedaruma(Princess Daruma).


This kite has been made by a kite craftsman, who is the specialist of Himedaruma kite, for an order from a customer in Europe.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Mini Kites


Is this specimens of butteflies? No.

This is a collection of mini kites. These are made of paper and bamboo only.

Making these kites will require a lot of patience and endurance. It is really great skill.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Kite Festival at Marugame




A kite festival was held at Marugame in Kagawa prefecture. Though it is not so big festival, many Japanese kite enthusiasts gathered and flied kites made by themselves.
Opinions about kitemaking and design were also exchanged among them.

The kite shown in the first photo is Kagawa's traditional one of daruma shape.

Monday, February 4, 2008

5pcs kite train kit


This kite train kit,that is easy to make, is recommendable to kids who make kite train for the first time. This kit is used also in schools in Japan as educational tool.

Two types are available, one is colored and another is white that kids can decorate with whatever design they like.
Main materials are polyethylene(sail) and bamboo.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

7pcs Kite Train


Kids can easily enjoy a kite flying with this kite train. Every year we sell more than 30,000 trains in Japan and this kite train is a standard item with an established reputation.

The size of each kite is 33cm(w) and 31cm(h).

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Yakko Kite


Yakko kite is one of the most popular Japanese Kites and every part of Japan developed the unique designs. The Yakko kite I introduce this time is with the short-sleeve that makes it remain steady in the sky.

There are some users who buy this kite not only for flying but also for interior decoration.

This is made of paper and bamboo and the size is 70cm(w) and 44cm(h).

Monday, January 21, 2008

Make a Star Kite


During kiting season, we teach classes in kite making in various locations and often are asked whether there are any kites to make easily and any unique kites. A star kite is recommendable to meet such requests. In fact, many kids show interest and enjoy its flying.

It takes about 15 minutes for kids to make it,except painting. The size is 47cm x 47cm.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Kakudako ZOO


The shape is traditional but the design is so cute. This is a newly developed kite and is now popular among kids since it is also easy to fly it.
The size is 28cm(wide) & 38cm(high) and 4 desings of panda, bear, dog and rabbit are available. The sail is made of polyethylene.
Why not fly it?

Monday, January 14, 2008

Make 60pcs Kite Train



You do not need to look for necessary materials to make a kite train. Why not get a kit of kite train. Diamond shape with 6 colors. You can decorate the sail with whatever design you like.


It is recommendable people who desire colorful kites.
The kit with white color only also is available.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Fly a Train of Star Kites


This is recommendable to kite flyers who do not want to make kite train but want to enjoy its fly. It is the 40pcs star-shaped kite train with cute animal design of dog, pig,fog and duck.
The price also is reasonable.
I have heard from a few users, who bought it, that they are satisfied flying it.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Make a New Kakudako Kite


Sometimes I am asked whether there is a kakudako kit that can easily be made. It is a fact that it takes time to make a traditional kakudako kite. In order to meet such a reuqest, a kakudako kit was newly developed. This kite is not only easy to make but also easy to fly. So, I can say "best for beginners".

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Kite Festival at Himeji



A kite festival was held at Himeji on January 6,2008. This is one of the largest festivals in Japan and there were about 12 thousands of visitors since luckily it was bright and sunny.

I could see many and various kites such as traditional kites,kite trains and original kites without getting tired.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Rokkaku Kite












Japan possesses a wide variety of kites with each geographical region having developed its own unique shapes and designs.These designs reflect the unique culture of each area and are often based on warriors, mythical being, theater characters or traditional symbols.
One of the most popular shapes is Rokkaku kite. This is popular worldwide.

Make 70pcs Kite Train



Flying kite train is very impressive and attractive. I realize there are many people who want to make kite trains in the world and in fact I am often asked whether such kite train kits are available. To meet such request, I always recommend 70pcs kite train kit with dragon kanji.

The advantage is to be easy to make. I believe the users who got this train kit are satisfied and some users gave me the photos showing fly of this kite train.