The Art Of The Japanese Kite

"This book is about kites I have seen, kite makers I have spoken with, and kite festivals I have attended."--Prologue.

The first book ever to present a clear guide to making 15 traditional Japanese kites unique in color and shape. Also introduces the history and the artistry of Japanses kites.

Briefly looks at the history of Japanese kites, describes the development of local designs, and shows a variety of Japanese kite styles

Color woodblock prints vibrantly convey the popular urban culture of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Edo, now called Tokyo. In a book that brings together two of Edo's most colorful traditions, prints and kites, John Stevenson celebrates the charm and significance of the mass-produced but often elegant broadsheets known as ukiyo-e. The term means "pictures of the floating world," a pun on a Buddhist concept of the fleeting world of desires that is, coincidentally but poetically, appropriate for a study of kites borne on the wind. Edo artists experimented with woodblock-printing techniques during the eighteenth century as kite-flying became increasingly popular. Each influenced the other: kite-makers copied woodblock-print designs to decorate their creations of bamboo, cloth, and paper, and printers used images of kites in their designs. The prints from the Skinner Collection illustrated in this book are products of Tokugawa Edo (1603-1867) and Meiji Tokyo (1868-1912). They record highlights of the Kabuki theater, brothels, and Sumo wrestling, enthusiastically presenting star actors and celebrity courtesans and vignettes of everyday life. These images capture for us the character of life as it was lived and imagined by the printmakers and kite-fliers of Old Japan. It seems that everyone thrills to the sight of a kite straining upward into the sky, and woodblock prints are perhaps the most accessible form of traditional Japanese visual culture; kite aficionados and lovers of Japanese art alike will be delighted by this study.

A CARP FOR KIMIKO is the story of a young girl's struggle against the strong current of tradition. Every year on Children's Day in Japan a kite in the shape of a carp is flown for each boy in the family. Kimiko is a little girl who desperately wants an orange, black, and white calico carp kite of her own to fly on this holiday. Kimiko's parents remind her that there is a holiday just for girls?Doll's Festival Day, but this does not stop Kimiko from dreaming about and wishing for her very own carp. The magical ending achieves the impossible?Kimiko gets what she longs for without breaking tradition. Katherine Roundtree's beautiful illustrations evoke the wonder and excitement of childhood, which will charm readers of all cultures.

Kids will learn how to make colorful kites while exploring Asian culture and history with this easy-to-follow crafts for kids book. The Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids series is the first series, aimed at readers ages 7-12, that provides a fun and educational introduction to Asian culture and art. Through hands on projects readers will explore each art—engaging in activities to gain a better understanding of each form. In this volume, children will learn to how to make a kite. Kite making is a unique craft—with projects that are beautiful, functional, and fun! The colorful, easy-to-follow instructions in Asian Kites will have you building—and flying—fifteen different kites from countries all across Asia, including China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Korea. The full-color instructions make it easy to create these beautiful kites out of common materials and the resource guide in the back lists plenty of places to purchase supplies. You'll learn to build: Butterfly kite from China Cobra kite from Thailand Mini kite from Malaysia Shield kite from Korea An octopus kite from Japan And more! Fun to build and exciting to fly—this book brings a whole new meaning to the term "go fly a kite!"

An interdisciplinary exploration into the history of kite making and flying.