For the first time, Japanese below the samurai class were allowed to fly kites. Kite flying became very popular in Japan during the Edo period. They were used to avert evil spirits and to ensure rich harvests. Kite flying was an important recreational activity and provided a socializing opportunity in Korea.īuddhist monks brought kites to Japan about the seventh century. One day when both brothers were at the hillside flying their kites, they met the king (who was their same age) face-to-face and formed a special friendship. This book is about two Korean brothers named Kee-sup and Young-sup, who both loved to fly kites, but only Young-sup could launch a kite successfully alone. Linda Park, in her book Kite Fighter, described a famous story in Korea that dates back to 1473. In Korea, therefore, people viewed the kite as a miracle weapon to overcome an enemy invasion, or as a useful pastime play for friendship. The soldiers, seeing the star return to heaven, rallied and defeated the rebels. To regain control, the general used a large kite to carry a fireball into the sky. However, his troops refused to fight because they had seen a large shooting star fall from the sky and believed it to be a bad omen. Each area developed a distinctive style of kite, as well as a specific cultural purpose for flying them.ĭuring the Silla dynasty of Korea, around the year 600, General Gim Yu-sin was ordered to subdue a revolt. Eventually, traders spread kite flying from China to Korea, and across Asia to India. By knowing this distance, his troops reached the inside of the city, surprised their enemy, and emerged victorious. The earliest written account of kite flying was about 200 b.c., when the Chinese general Han Hsin of the Han dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses. One legend suggests that the first kite was born when a Chinese farmer tied a string to his hat to keep it from blowing away in a strong wind. The exact date and origin of the kite is not known, but historians believe that kites were flown in China more than 2,000 years ago.
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