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Young people keep ancient tradition aloft As a gust of wind blows across the dry rock floor of the riverbed, a drum beats, signaling that the time is right. Cheers go up as over one hundred people charge ahead pulling the rough rope taut. The tempo of the drums increases as the masses fight to get the behemoth under control. No, it's not Godzilla harassing the citizens of Japan ; it's the flight of a gigantic kite, or Oodako, as it's called in Japanese. Oodako kite flying is one of many facets of Japanese culture that my fellow delegates and I experienced when we visited Japan recently as part of the Marquette-Higashiomi sister city exchange program. It was an important event for our delegation to witness because it is a symbol of our sister city's rich heritage. Oodako kite flying has been practiced in the city for over 300 years. Each year on the fourth Sunday of May the city hosts the Higashiomi Oodako Kite Festival. It takes place outside the city in a dry riverbed, selected for it's flat ground and near perfect flying conditions created by strong winds blowing across nearby Lake Biwa and the low lying Koto plains. t takes a lot of planning to get something as large as an Oodako off the ground. Months before the festival, organizers decide on a theme that reflects an important aspect of the era. The theme is illustrated on the front of the kite. This year's theme was the merger of the city of Yokaichi and surrounding towns to form the city of Higashiomi . On average, 250 people work six hours a day for thirty days to make the kite. Last year's kite required a huge amount of materials including fifty bamboo poles, 360 sheets of paper (thirty-five inches by twenty-five inches), approximately four gallons of glue and large amounts of thick rope. At the end of production, the kite weighed 1,500 pounds and took over 130 people to pull it. A finished kite measures anywhere from forty-two by thirty-nine feet up to eighty-four by sixty-eight feet. This year's kite was the size of100 tatami mats, a common unit of Japanese measurement. A tatami, or reed floor mat, is about three by six feet. A hundred tatami mat kite is around forty-two by thirty-nine feet. Though this year's kite was large, it would be dwarfed by the kite flown back in 1882, a 240 tatami mat giant, the largest Oodako ever flown. Though it takes over a month to build a kite, the festival lasts only a few hours. All ages are represented, from chattering elementary and junior high school students to senior citizens quietly enjoying the festivities. Tents are set up to offer refuge from the scorching sun. Inside are different groups, each with a colorful medium-sized kite to fly. In the shade of one of the tents was a group of young kite flyers from three local junior high schools. A boy named Takatsugu Ganse and a girl named Suzuka Okabe were among the group. Ganse and Okabe have been coming to this event for longer than they can remember, though this year was the first time they had come with their school. In previous years, they came mostly with friends. “I hold and release the kite” said Okabe when asked about her role in the event. Through an interpreter, she explained that in previous years she held the kite while the runners held the rope. Then she released it when enough wind blew to lift the kite. This year, her job along with Ganse and the others, was to run and pull the kite. She and Ganse thoroughly enjoyed the experience. They feel strongly about continuing the kite flying tradition. “We will take over traditional things and tell our child or grandchild to take over,” Ganse said. During this festival, the other delegates and I got to run with a twenty tatami kite. It turns out that it isn't as Pulling the kite, working together with so many people, and finally seeing the kite lift into the sky makes it all worth it ? a reward beyond words. To play even the smallest part in something this amazing, is an experience I'll remember for a lifetime. Editor's note: Hiromi Nakamura, a resident of Higashiomi and student at Northern Michigan University translated interviews for this story.
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simple as it sounds. Flying a giant kite is an incredible experience, especially when you consider that holding the rope too long can mean getting lifted off the ground. 
