Kites and Kite Flying
Kites are toys that fly in the air at the end of a line, and kite flying is a popular pastime in Asia. Many kinds of kites exist, but most have light bamboo frames covered with paper or cloth and are attached to a long string held in the hand. Brightly colored and decorated, Asian kites may take the shapes of birds, insects, butterflies, or geometric forms. One of the popular Chinese kite forms is the jointed dragon.
The oldest record of a kite is from the fifth century BCE in China. Plane-surface kites were diffused into Europe in the fifteenth century, and after the sixteenth century many other kinds of kites were introduced into Europe.
In East Asia kite flying is a traditional custom with religious meaning. In Japan and Korea people fly kites during the New Year celebrations. In China the ninth day of the ninth month is a holiday honoring kites. Koreans and Chinese sometimes write words representing evils on the surfaces of kites, then they burn the kites or let them fly away in the air after the New Year. The kites are thought to carry the evils away.
Kite flying is also popular in Thailand, where in March the air is filled with a variety of kites. Historically, the people of Thailand used kites at a ceremony to hasten the end of the rainy season, believing that the wind whistling through the bamboo frames of the kites blew away rain clouds. Kite fighting has survived as one of the major sports in Thailand, and the national championships are held in Bangkok every spring. Competitors attempt to bring their opponent's kites to the ground by severing the strings to which the kites are attached. There is also a kite championship in Malaysia. Participants demonstrate the height, sound, and beauty of their kites. Malays introduced kite flying to India, where, as in Japan, it remains popular.
Hisashi Sanada
Spectators watch a gigantic kite being flown at a festival in Ahmadabad, India, in January 1994. (HANS GEORG ROTH/CORBIS)Further Reading
Kishino, Yuzo, Yoshio Kuroda, Yuichi Suzuki, and Takeo Fukagawa, eds. (1987) Encyclopedia of Sports. Tokyo: Taishukan.
Ohbayashi, Taryo, Yuzo Kishino, Tsuneo Sougawa, and Shinji Yamashita, eds. (1998) Encyclopedia of Ethnic Play and Games. Tokyo: Taishukan.
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