Kite flying (tako-age) has been part of Japanese culture since at least the 8th century, when kites arrived from China via Korea. Over centuries, Japanese craftspeople developed kite forms, materials, and techniques entirely distinct from their continental origins — producing regional traditions so divergent that the kites of Nagasaki look nothing like those of Hamamatsu, which look nothing like those of Edo. Today, kite festivals (tako matsuri) across Japan celebrate these traditions with competitive flying, enormous display kites, and battles that can attract hundreds of thousands of spectators.
Hamamatsu Kite Festival (Hamamatsu Matsuri)
The Hamamatsu Kite Festival, held during Golden Week (May 3-5) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, is Japan’s most famous and one of its most spectacular. The festival originates in a tradition of flying kites to celebrate the birth of a family’s first son, combined with competitive kite-cutting battles (ito-kiri) where teams attempt to cut rivals’ kite strings with their own. Teams represent specific neighbourhoods, and competition is fierce. Alongside the daytime kite battles over the coastal flatlands, evening processions of elaborately decorated floats (hikifune) parade through the city centre. Attendance exceeds 1 million across the three days.
Sagami Kite Festival (Sagami no Ohako Matsuri), Sagamihara
The Sagami Kite Festival in Sagamihara City, Kanagawa, features some of Japan’s largest kites. The main attraction is a massive kite measuring 14.5 metres on each side — one of the largest kites flown anywhere in the world — requiring over 200 people to launch. The festival is held in early May on the dry beds of the Sagami River. The scale of the kites and the industrial effort required to fly them makes this festival uniquely photogenic.
Shirone Giant Kite Battle (Shirone Oodako Kassen), Niigata
The Shirone Giant Kite Battle, held in June along the Nakanokuchi River in Niigata Prefecture, is Japan’s most dramatic kite competition. Teams from either side of the river fly massive hexagonal kites (up to 2.4 metres wide, 3.8 metres tall) with the deliberate intention of tangling strings with the opposing team’s kites. Once strings tangle, both kites crash into the river. Teams haul their kites from the water and relaunch, repeating the process over two days. The festival has continued for over 300 years.
Zama Kite Festival (Zama Tako-Age), Kanagawa
Held in April in Zama City, Kanagawa, this festival emphasises traditional Edo kite forms — rectangular, with a distinctive humming bow (unari) that makes the kite sing in the wind. The festival is more intimate than Hamamatsu or Sagami and offers closer access to the kites and their makers. Several kite craftspeople demonstrate construction techniques during the event.
Kite Craftsmanship and Regional Forms
Japan’s regional kite traditions produce forms not seen elsewhere. Nagasaki’s hata kites (diamond-shaped, paper-covered bamboo frames) are flown in competitive cutting battles that gave rise to similar traditions across Southeast Asia. Edo kites (Edo dako) feature elaborate painted designs of kabuki characters, animals, and geometric patterns. Akita’s tsugaru kites are notable for their vivid colours and large size. Okinawa’s junko kites are made from pandanus leaves and produce a humming sound from the leaf’s natural veins.
For visitors planning festival travel, the guide to Japan summer festivals covers the broader festival calendar, and Japan Golden Week explains the holiday period when several major kite festivals occur.