ONE OF KITING’S “FIRST FAMILIES” & THE LONGEST RUNNING KITE FESTIVAL IN THE UNITED STATES

ABOUT KIYO HASHIMOTO The Japan Kite Association lost our oldest member during this New Year holiday season. It was Kiyo Hashimoto, the wife of Teizo Hashimoto, who was a worldly, well known Edo kite maker. Kiyo passed away on January 5th, 2009, right before her 106th birthday.

Idaho’s Snowkite Soldier promotes and teaches an exciting new sport called snowkiting. Ever fly a kite? Ever ski or snowboard? You already have the skills to learn this amazing sport, a combination of kite flying and skiing/ snowboarding. It’s a thrilling alternative that combines windswept backcountry landscapes and miles of powder with the freedom to ride in places you never imagined.

The story about to be told is one of great heart. At times unbelievable and utterly mind-blowing, it has come straight from a self-confessed mad-man. He is Ashburton, New Zealand’s Craig Hansen, aged on the edge of half a century, and the record is entirely true and correct. It speaks of four men and a support crew who conquered the rugged, unforgiving Sahara Desert and its many barbs – all the while in buggies – by harnessing the power of wind as their fuel alone. It tells of determination, innovation, inspiration, and new world records.

I first saw Peter Lynn in his kite buggy in either 1990 or 1991 on a beach in Japan. My first thought was, “He’s done it, he’s found a way to get in everyone’s way!” But that was shortsighted and selfish – what Peter had really done was to reinvent kite traction, this time as a sport for thousands.

It is truly a moment of awe when – above the smoldering trash piles and ruined rubble of homes and livelihoods – kids, living in the squalor of bed-sheet tent cities housing 1,000 or more persons, can create such a magnificent art.

Could there be a more appropriate place to fly a modern replica Grund kite than Nebraska? When it comes to American weather kites, Nebraska occupies an almost forgotten place in their development: the factory that manufactured US Weather Service kites was in Dexter, Nebraska, and one of the last kiteoperating weather stations was in North Platte.

I have loved books since the age of 11. Firstly as a means of learning and then later as an art form. My first contact with books arose from the necessity of learning English as a second language and then much later, as a teacher, books in turn became an essential part of my job. As an adult, my passion for Asian arts made me purchase a variety of beautifully illustrated books to further my knowledge about artworks that particularly interested me. However, it was the world of Japanese kites that led me directly to the Japanese picture book.

In most Afghani families, who plays with kites? Mostly males play with kites beginning around five or six years old – once they know their right hand from their left. From there, it is all ages to include Grandpa. Kite running begins when the child is old enough to chase down a kite that’s been cut from the sky. Who teaches the art of kite making?

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?