Kite Festival @Hamamatsu: May 5, 2012

I had a little side trip to Hamamatsu City during my Tokaido walk. The visit was to enjoy the city’s famous Kite festival.

Tens of huge kites (more than 3x3 meters large) were flying in the blue sly when I arrived in the festival site near the sea.


The kites are made and raised by more than 100 teams organized by local communities. The designs were different by the teams.

All members of the team – old and young, men and women --were working together in concert. They were wearing same traditional costumes, marching in the field, playing the trumpet together and working to raise the kite. The ties among the community members seemed to be strengthened by the festival.


Thousands of tourists were enjoying the festival.

The ropes are more than 1000 meter long. They were using special instruments in addition to men powers to operate the kites.

Competitions to fall another team’s kite were also held. They attacked opponent’s kite by contacting the ropes.


Landing the kite softly seemed difficult. I saw some kites made hard landings to the ground.

It is said that the festival originated about 450 years ago. By raising kites, people celebrated the birth of their first sons. The tradition remains. Some kites are raised to celebrate the birth of new babies.

The sea outside the festival site was wide and wild. The was strong and the ripple marks changed every minutes.

In the night, they had a march of floats in the central city.