Every year along the Shinano River in Shirone, gigantic handmade kites battle it out for the top stop. Groups of up to 30 people prepare numerous kites to fight in separate rounds. The kites are so large that they require those large groups of people to pull the ropes and guide the kite into the air. About 5 groups at a time line up along both sides of the river bank and stretch their ropes out and then when the whistle blows they all run in a line together and hoist the kite. If they are not all in sync or something gets snagged the kites never take flight and the group has to start again. The biggest kites took about 15 or more large ropes and about 30 people to run in the line to pull it up. Everyone has to be organized and ready to go at a moments notice, there is very little margin for error or missteps.
The kites were incredibly gorgeous when they were all soaring through the air together. Teams had to swerve their kites into others to take them down while keeping their's in flight. Sometimes the bigger ones would make it up but the speed wasn't enough to keep them going and they would make their way down to a billowy and wet death into the Shinano River. Some of the kites that cut through the air would lose flight and come crashing down around us, so we always had our eyes to the sky making sure we weren't in danger of kite impalement. One man standing directly in front of us was not so lucky and a kite fell on him, luckily it was a flat paper part and he sort of just popped through it, looking stunned but he came out injury free.
After the teams would battle it out, the last two teams would play a gigantic game of tug-of-war with the broken shrapnel of the kites in the river. Two teams would stand on opposite sides of the river and the rope would be tied to other ropes of the fallen kites and then the teams would form a huge line that would go well into the side streets of the town and they would all collectively pull to break apart the entangled pieces of the kites. It was a great show of intense power and team work!
Like any festival in Japan, the side roads parallel to the river were lined with fantastic food stalls of all sorts of Japanese fare. There were also little games where kids could catch their own goldfish and they even had a dunk tank. I always try to sample a few dishes so I bought a donair, yakisoba, a candied apple, sweet potato fries, and a mango smoothie. We ate by the river bank and watched the groups set up their lines for the kite battles. My stomach was full and I was completely content with watching the excitement go down all around me. It was perfect weather for kite flying, the sunshine brought out crowds of people of all ages and the breeze kept everyone cool.
Shirone is famous for the kites they produce and this festival was something truly special to see. I always love when people spend the day looking up into the clouds and watching kites fly with wonder and amazement.
The kites were incredibly gorgeous when they were all soaring through the air together. Teams had to swerve their kites into others to take them down while keeping their's in flight. Sometimes the bigger ones would make it up but the speed wasn't enough to keep them going and they would make their way down to a billowy and wet death into the Shinano River. Some of the kites that cut through the air would lose flight and come crashing down around us, so we always had our eyes to the sky making sure we weren't in danger of kite impalement. One man standing directly in front of us was not so lucky and a kite fell on him, luckily it was a flat paper part and he sort of just popped through it, looking stunned but he came out injury free.
After the teams would battle it out, the last two teams would play a gigantic game of tug-of-war with the broken shrapnel of the kites in the river. Two teams would stand on opposite sides of the river and the rope would be tied to other ropes of the fallen kites and then the teams would form a huge line that would go well into the side streets of the town and they would all collectively pull to break apart the entangled pieces of the kites. It was a great show of intense power and team work!
Like any festival in Japan, the side roads parallel to the river were lined with fantastic food stalls of all sorts of Japanese fare. There were also little games where kids could catch their own goldfish and they even had a dunk tank. I always try to sample a few dishes so I bought a donair, yakisoba, a candied apple, sweet potato fries, and a mango smoothie. We ate by the river bank and watched the groups set up their lines for the kite battles. My stomach was full and I was completely content with watching the excitement go down all around me. It was perfect weather for kite flying, the sunshine brought out crowds of people of all ages and the breeze kept everyone cool.
Shirone is famous for the kites they produce and this festival was something truly special to see. I always love when people spend the day looking up into the clouds and watching kites fly with wonder and amazement.
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