Tokuko Sato

From Discourse 6

INTRODUCTION BY SCOTT SKINNER

American kite enthusiasts were introduced to Tokuko Sato at Bill Lockhart and Betty Street’s Junction International Kite Retreat. Sato-san was a frequent presenter and participant, and she demonstrated the beauty and intricacies of the Tsugaru Dako. But it was her infectious spirit that made us all fans: playing baseball for the first time (in high heels and black velvet), giggling at George Peters’ blow dart smacking into a target, or sneaking back into her classroom to “correct” students’ mistakes. She was an energetic dynamo, open and ready to teach and learn about kites.

Annually, Sato-san has hosted groups of foreign kite-fliers at her Aomori, Japan home, a testament to the pride she has for her town’s culture, history, and art.

This article, in her words, tells of her path to becoming one of the few female kite masters of Japan.

HISTORY OF THE TRADITIONAL TSUGARU KITE

Japan is a long island from north to south. There are different kite cultures within the country, and each culture adopts their geographical condition beautifully. Is there any country other than Japan that has such diverse kite cultures in one country?

The Tsugaru Dako was born in the most northern part of Honshu Island (the biggest and main island of Japan), which is under snow half of the year. Japan’s Sengoku period – from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century – was a time of social upheaval and political intrigue. The Tsugaru region was controlled by the Tsugaru clan. The Tsugaru chief and his team had to live in Edo (old Tokyo) when the Edo Period began. While living in Tokyo, they learned traditional Japanese painting, and when they finished serving time, they came back home with the new skill.

After that, the famous Japanese woodblock print artists Hokusai and Kuniyoshi became well-known in Japan. The Tsugaru people added their regional touch to the art themes Hokusai or Kuniyoshi created, and that was the beginning of Tsugaru painting.

Back then, Tsugaru people loved reading the book of Chinese legends, “Suikoden” and “Sangokushi.” They adopted them on paintings and called it “Tsugaru Painting.” Tsugaru people loved the painting style, and it became a part of their culture. Tsugaru clan families took those paintings into their lives as family portraits.

Hirosaki Castle was made for the Tsugaru clan and is well-known for the world’s biggest cherry blossom festival. During the Tempo period (the early 1800s), the Tsugaru clan flew about 40 to 50 big Tsugaru kites from the castle. The definition of “big” kites back then was about 97cm x 68cm (roughly 3 x 2 feet). All of them had a hummer that created loud and powerful noises up in the air. These kites are depicted in a local historical book.

After people saw the kites up in the air, the number of kite lovers increased. People learned Tsugaru painting and added new methods here and there. They created a community of Tsugaru painters, and some became famous. Tsugaru painting was born from teamwork over many decades. It was not created by one artist. It should be called mingei (people’s or teamwork painting).

WHAT IS A TSUGARU KITE?

If a kite doesn’t fly, it’s not a kite.

Tsugaru people have said from generation to generation: Tsugaru kites are the kind you fly with Siberian winds that blow hard during the winter. Tsugaru kites are not the kind you run with. I think that’s the golden rule for all kite fliers.

You control a Tsugaru kite in the air by holding and twisting the kite string. It makes a loud humming noise and you feel the vibration in your whole body. After the kite string is tied to a heavy object, you start the party on the snow. We spread tarps to make a party room. We thank family and friends for their hard work, and we invite strangers as well. We all enjoy flying kites while we party outside on the snow.

The flying height for a Tsugaru kite depends on the kite size. We enjoy looking at the paintings up in the air, but if too high, no one can see them. So kites have to fly at a height where you can enjoy the paintings. The paintings are of historical fighting scenes. We talk about the history, admire each other’s work, and think about our ancestors.

People cook special regional food and bring it to the party. This is our main fun activity during the severe winter. Everybody from kids to adults look forward to kite flying day. This is a Tsugaru tradition that has been passed on from generation to generation. We need to keep this tradition alive and pass it on to future generations.

Bamboo can’t grow in Aomori.

We use cypress wood for Tsugaru kite spars. Three prefectures are famous for Japan’s three biggest forests, and Aomori prefecture is one of them. We have a big cypress forest. Cypress is also called hiba arborvitae.

Temperatures in Aomori are low, so bamboo can’t grow there. Our ancestors were clever to use cypress instead of bamboo for the kite frame. Cypress is flexible like bamboo, cheap, available year-round, and light weight. On top of that, cypress has a beautiful grain and smells great.

Water makes washi paper strong.

Handmade washi paper is used for the Tsugaru kite sail. Washi is great because it gets stronger when the paper absorbs water from the air or when the paper gets moistened. It helps make the pigment spread slowly so the painting looks natural.

For Tsugaru kites, we don’t use one big sheet of paper. We use two, three, or four sheets of paper depending on the size of the kite. All sheets of paper are attached with nori paste, a Japanese glue. But when we look at a Tsugaru kite, we don’t notice the seams. That is the kite makers’ technique called noribari or urabari skill.

The Tsugaru kite is for enjoying humming.

There is a hummer on the top of the kite that we call bumbu. The word came from the sound of the hummer in the air. The bumbu makes a different sound from every kite artist. Making bumbu requires great skill.

The Tsugaru kite needs weight on the tails.

The Tsugaru kite has two tails. We use bundles of dry straw to make the tail thicker. In the Tsugaru area, people have used straw for folk crafts ever since the Jomon period (Japanese prehistory, 14,000 to 4000 BCE).

We make several different tails depending on the size of the kite. Traditionally, a grandfather makes a kite for his grandchild and he braids straw for the tails.

The Tsugaru kite is for enjoying paintings.

Tsugaru kite paintings show fighting scenes from the Sengoku period. Painters capture the tense moment when two samurais stare at each other. Tsugaru paintings never have bloody scenes or decapitation. Staring at each other with great tension conveys the story to others.

The Tsugaru kite can sway in the wind.

We play with Tsugaru kites by flying different ways. Swing the kite line right and left and, at the same time, pull it down. As soon as the kite flies down, pull the line right and left and send the kite back up in the air. People love to see that motion. I always get a big applause.

HOW I STARTED MAKING TSUGARU KITES

During the winter time, kids fly kites in the snow. My husband, Jinya, remembers when his father took many neighbors to the river to fly a big kite. The kite was almost the same size as a house door. Kite flying day with Jinya’s father became an annual activity for everybody.

Jinya’s father died at age 78. Three years after his death, I heard this story for the first time. I was very moved and something awakened inside me. I wanted to put myself in the same scene as Jinya’s father. I wanted to share happiness with children.

Soon after that, I found an article in the newspaper about a kite workshop in Hirosaki city. At that time, people’s consciousness of traditional Tsugaru kites was very low, almost zero. After World War II, kite flying was prohibited and no one made traditional Tsugaru kites. The kite workshop was sponsored by Hirosaki city, Hirosaki chamber of commerce, and the local newspaper to revive and promote our traditional kite culture.

The kite workshop was a yearly event. I participated four years in a row and was fascinated by the Tsugaru kite paintings, their strong sumi strokes, and their coloring method.

I had a strong connection to the region’s history. I was born in Hirosaki city. My grandmother used to tell me the story of my great-grandfather, who was a master of the spear and trained the Tsugaru clan. Until my younger brother was in elementary school, the whole community treated us in a special way like VIPs.

ABOUT MY TSUGARU KITE MASTERS

I am a member of the Japan folk-craft society. The society has a chapter in each prefecture. I am in charge of the Tsugaru kite in our chapter.

One of the founders of the society was Teisan Soma. He was well-known for being a master of Tsugaru kite painting. He taught a famous Tsugaru kite painter, Hikoe Yoshitani. My master was Mr. Yoshitani. I learned everything from him.

I took Tsugaru painting lectures from Mr. Yoshitani every day. Until midnight, Mr. Yoshitani and I had passionate discussions about Tsugaru painting and folk-craft. Mr. Soma also gave me lectures whenever he had time. Both of my masters were generous, honest, serious, and warm.

Mr. Yoshitani used to tell me that his early kites were not good enough. My mother had one of his early kites and she kept it in a storage room for a long time. She gave me the kite and I still have it. Since Mr. Yoshitani was ashamed of his early work, he repainted the same theme and gave it to me as a gift.

Mr. Soma knew he had cancer and he was dying. He told me that if he passed away without completing his last kite theme, he wanted me to finish it after his death. Back then, I was still new to the kite field and it was clearly a joke. Right before he passed away, he gave all his research to his oldest daughter. His will was to publish what he had researched. Twenty years after his death, in 2007, we published his book during the JKA annual kite festival to honor him. The title was Tsugaru Kite Painting.

I am very fortunate to have met great Tsugaru painting masters. I learned many different methods, and I could choose what I like as my style and develop it from there. What I learned from my masters has guided me in my professional life.

TSUGARU KITES: AMATEUR VS. PROFESSIONAL

People say that the Aomori kite group is one of the biggest, second only to Tokyo in number of members. A big difference from other kite clubs is that Aomori kite people belong to an independent group. The majority have no teachers to follow. They are self-taught and proud of themselves to have kites as a hobby.

That is totally fine, as long as they make kites at home. Unfortunately, the reality is different. They sell their kites cheap because they are not professional kite makers. People who buy the kites in souvenir shops think they are made by a professional Tsugaru kite maker. When people fly it, it will break easily. That’s dreadful.

There are many Tsugaru kite enthusiasts in Aomori. However, they have no idea about Tsugaru kite history, which makes me worry about the future of Tsugaru kites.

THE FUTURE OF TSUGARU KITES

It has been about 40 years since I’ve entered the kite world. My passion started right after I joined the kite workshop. My kite life has been great so far.

The strong point for me is that I can send a message or teach something through kites. I always think about what I can tell people using kites. When I think back on the past, I have introduced Tsugaru culture inside Japan, and I have introduced Japanese culture with overseas.

The kite world is big and deep. And social networks through kites are also big and deep. Almost every society welcomes kite activities because the kite is a symbol of peace. Kites have strings that connect the world with peace. “No border in the sky” – that is my favorite saying.

In December 2010, we will have a bullet train to Aomori that will bring many tourists. Right now, the Tsugaru kite is seen only as a toy, but it’s possible that Tsugaru kites will become cultural assets in the future. The Tsugaru kite represents our land and culture. We Tsugaru people need to have positive consciousness of what our culture is all about.

We have already lost Tsugaru masters. What we can do at this point is convey the right information about Tsugaru kites and Tsugaru paintings to the next generation with passion. I have been told several times that my Tsugaru painting doesn’t look like it’s done by a woman. For me, there is no man or woman in the world of Tsugaru kites. There is only me, totally fascinated by Tsugaru kite painting.

When the whole painting culture has been passed on to the next generation, the origin could be forgotten. Fortunately, I can utilize my female point of view to express warriors’ hair style, hair movement, hand movement and feelings in the paintings. I love being in the world of Tsugaru kites and I would love to keep painting musha-e (paintings of fighting warriors) with my passion.

Translated by Kiyomi Okawa