LINK
http://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.jp/2011/08/tokushima-folk-toys.html
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wanwandako, wanwan tako わんわん凧 "Wanwan" Wan Wan round kite (like a bowl)
WAN 「丸」や「円」 is a word of Naruto and the Awa region, meaning round.
These kites are famous in the Muya region 撫養.
The tradition of these huge kites dates back to 1695 and has been most cherished during the Taisho period around 1935.
Every village makes its own large round kite with a special pattern.
a ranking of the best from 1917 凧番付表 大正6年
- source : www.joruri.jp
- quote
A man-carrying kite would have to be big, but there have been some far larger than is necessary for the task. At least one was large enough to carry a man, together with his wife and child, and perhaps even a small grandmother. Though it in fact did not take on passengers, the largest kite in the world until its demise it was known as the wanwan, which was made and flown in the city of Naruto in Shikoku.
This kite was the apotheosis of Japan's ability to enlarge things normally associated with a modest scale to a size almost beyond comprehension. Reports of the actual size of giant, out-of-the-ordinary objects in Japan tend to be quite contradictory. This is not surprising, for one is hard pressed for accuracy or a point of reference when confronted with such unbelievable size.
The following figures, with attendant qualifications, are, I believe, reliable :
The wanwan kite, made of bamboo and paper, came in a variety of sizes from small to giant. The largest version was sixty-three feet in diameter; its shape was round but slightly flattened on the horizontal. This kite, together with its bridle and tail, weighed 8,800 pounds. Depending on the wind, 150 to 200 men were required to fly it.
The great kite was flown annually in a summer festival from the middle of the nineteenth century until 1914. Eyewitnesses to the wanwan festivals over the years variously reported that the kite was sixty to sixty-five feet in diameter and weighed from as little as 1,700 pounds to as much as 5,500 pounds.
In fact, the size of the giant wanwan varied from year to year. Also, large numbers of kites of different sizes were flown from day to day in the same festival period. The apparent discrepancies in weight can be accounted for by the varying sizes as well as by the inclusion or exclusion in the total of the weight of the bridle and flying line. Thirty-five to one hundred separate bridle lines, depending on the kite's size, would have been required. These lines add considerably to a kite's weight, and as a kite is actually lifting this weight, it is not unreasonable to count the bridles and flying line in the total weight of a kite.
The wanwan required a huge tail to help stabilize its flight; the largest wanwan required one five hundred feet long that was made from lengths of heavy ship rope.
Strong sea winds carried the huge kite aloft. Retrieving it was even more difficult than sending it skyward. The winch that let out the heavy flying line was held securely by virtue of being buried deep in the ground. Winch-reeling it in, however, was often impossible. An alternative was to walk it in ; that is, using a technique whereby the flyers walk down the line toward the kite, in this way shortening the flying line and causing the kite to come down. Not infrequently, the wind was too strong for the kite to be safely retrieved even with the combined strength of two hundred men. In such cases it had to be left flying until the wind died, allowing it to fall back to earth of its own accord.
ORIENTAL KITES: A BRIEF HISTORY
- source : Tal Streeter
a traditional Wan Wan from northern part of Shikoku Island. The image is Three Geishas from a print by Torij Kiyonaga (1752-1815). The Wan Wan is unique in Japan for its round shape -- reputedly based on a typical lacquer plate.
The washi and bamboo kite is six inches in diameter with an extended spar another three inches long.
- source : Gomberg Kites
..................................................................................................................................................................
. Oasahiko Daruma 大麻比古
Deutsches Haus Naruto
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://omamorifromjapan.blogspot.jp/2011/08/tokushima-folk-toys.html
.................................................................................................................................................................
wanwandako, wanwan tako わんわん凧 "Wanwan" Wan Wan round kite (like a bowl)
WAN 「丸」や「円」 is a word of Naruto and the Awa region, meaning round.
These kites are famous in the Muya region 撫養.
The tradition of these huge kites dates back to 1695 and has been most cherished during the Taisho period around 1935.
Every village makes its own large round kite with a special pattern.
a ranking of the best from 1917 凧番付表 大正6年
- source : www.joruri.jp
- quote
A man-carrying kite would have to be big, but there have been some far larger than is necessary for the task. At least one was large enough to carry a man, together with his wife and child, and perhaps even a small grandmother. Though it in fact did not take on passengers, the largest kite in the world until its demise it was known as the wanwan, which was made and flown in the city of Naruto in Shikoku.
This kite was the apotheosis of Japan's ability to enlarge things normally associated with a modest scale to a size almost beyond comprehension. Reports of the actual size of giant, out-of-the-ordinary objects in Japan tend to be quite contradictory. This is not surprising, for one is hard pressed for accuracy or a point of reference when confronted with such unbelievable size.
The following figures, with attendant qualifications, are, I believe, reliable :
The wanwan kite, made of bamboo and paper, came in a variety of sizes from small to giant. The largest version was sixty-three feet in diameter; its shape was round but slightly flattened on the horizontal. This kite, together with its bridle and tail, weighed 8,800 pounds. Depending on the wind, 150 to 200 men were required to fly it.
The great kite was flown annually in a summer festival from the middle of the nineteenth century until 1914. Eyewitnesses to the wanwan festivals over the years variously reported that the kite was sixty to sixty-five feet in diameter and weighed from as little as 1,700 pounds to as much as 5,500 pounds.
In fact, the size of the giant wanwan varied from year to year. Also, large numbers of kites of different sizes were flown from day to day in the same festival period. The apparent discrepancies in weight can be accounted for by the varying sizes as well as by the inclusion or exclusion in the total of the weight of the bridle and flying line. Thirty-five to one hundred separate bridle lines, depending on the kite's size, would have been required. These lines add considerably to a kite's weight, and as a kite is actually lifting this weight, it is not unreasonable to count the bridles and flying line in the total weight of a kite.
The wanwan required a huge tail to help stabilize its flight; the largest wanwan required one five hundred feet long that was made from lengths of heavy ship rope.
Strong sea winds carried the huge kite aloft. Retrieving it was even more difficult than sending it skyward. The winch that let out the heavy flying line was held securely by virtue of being buried deep in the ground. Winch-reeling it in, however, was often impossible. An alternative was to walk it in ; that is, using a technique whereby the flyers walk down the line toward the kite, in this way shortening the flying line and causing the kite to come down. Not infrequently, the wind was too strong for the kite to be safely retrieved even with the combined strength of two hundred men. In such cases it had to be left flying until the wind died, allowing it to fall back to earth of its own accord.
ORIENTAL KITES: A BRIEF HISTORY
- source : Tal Streeter
a traditional Wan Wan from northern part of Shikoku Island. The image is Three Geishas from a print by Torij Kiyonaga (1752-1815). The Wan Wan is unique in Japan for its round shape -- reputedly based on a typical lacquer plate.
The washi and bamboo kite is six inches in diameter with an extended spar another three inches long.
- source : Gomberg Kites
..................................................................................................................................................................
. Oasahiko Daruma 大麻比古
Deutsches Haus Naruto
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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