{"id":9909,"date":"2023-05-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9909"},"modified":"2023-05-11T06:54:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T06:54:00","slug":"sagamihara-zama-cities-host-first-giant-kite-festivals-since-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9909","title":{"rendered":"Sagamihara, Zama cities host first giant kite festivals since 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n A giant kite featuring popular Japanese cartoon characters Jibanyan (from the \u201cYokai Watch\u201d franchise), Doraemon and Pikachu is flown May 4 during the jointly hosted giant kite festivals for Sagamihara and Zama cities held near the Sagami River. This year was the first time since 2019 that both cities held their festivals at full scale, following cancellations and a reduced-capacity festival due to COVID-19.
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SAGAMIHARA CITY, Japan \u2013 The neighboring cities of Sagamihara and Zama jointly hosted their giant kite festivals for the first time since 2019, inviting the Camp Zama community to experience the culturally significant event.<\/p>\n

U.S. Army Garrison Commander Col. Christopher L. Tomlinson and USAG Japan Command Sgt. Maj. David Rio attended the festivals as invited guests May 4 at the Sagami River near the installation. While at the festival, Tomlinson was able to meet with both Sagamihara City Mayor Kentaro Motomura and Zama City Mayor Mito Sato.<\/p>\n

This year marked the first time in four years that either event was held at its full scale. The festivals were held in 2022 at a reduced capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Sagamihara City, the Giant Kite Festival is a cultural tradition that has been going on for 190 years,\u201d Motomura said. \u201cI believe it is the best Giant Kite Festival in Japan and an excellent representation of the culture of Sagamihara City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have continued this traditional event for a long time in Zama City,\u201d Sato said. \u201cI believe that through this event, we are able to connect with the spirits of those who came before us, which helps to grow our civic pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tomlinson and Rio were invited to be part of the opening ceremony, which included participation from city officials and leadership from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.<\/p>\n

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\n From left, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Commander Col. Christopher L. Tomlinson, USAG Japan Command Sgt. Maj. David Rio and Rio\u2019s wife, Joanna, stand in front of a giant kite May 4 during joint giant kite festivals for Sagamihara and Zama cities. The kite shown here is Sagamihara City\u2019s and it is 14.5 square meters in size and weighs more than 2 tons. The kanji on the kite reads \u201cshoufu,\u201d which means \u201cwinds of victory.\u201d
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\u201cI was grateful and honored to have been asked to be part of what is a time-honored festival that is deep in the culture of these two cities,\u201d Tomlinson said. \u201cFor both cities to consider us to be a part of their festivals, it\u2019s an honor and a testament to the importance of our relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Camp Zama has long had a direct connection to the festival, in that members of the Sagami Giant Kite Association, Kassaka District, come every year to harvest bamboo from the installation, which is used to construct the frame of the kite. Having materials from Camp Zama be used in the making of the kite is a demonstration of the bond between the installation and its two neighboring cities, Tomlinson said.<\/p>\n

Each city decides on the kanji character to be painted on the kite that most represents the message they hope to convey. This year, Zama City chose the character \u201chana-kaze,\u201d which means \u201cflower winds.\u201d Sagamihara chose \u201cshoufu,\u201d which means \u201cwinds of victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back at the past four years, we have fought the unknown, including the East Japan Typhoon and COVID-19,\u201d Motomura said. \u201cWe hope our kite flies high as a symbol of our resilience in the face of COVID-19, and of the 270,000 citizens of Sagamihara City working together toward a brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sato echoed the significance of once again being able to host the event, adding that she thinks it helps to deepen a sense of mutual understanding among all the visitors and can be a big step toward building world peace.<\/p>\n

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\n From left, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Command Sgt. Maj. David Rio, USAG Japan Commander Col. Christopher L. Tomlinson and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Daisuke Chiba, command sergeant major of the JGSDF’s 4th Engineer Group, take part in the opening ceremony of Zama City\u2019s giant kite festival May 4 near the Sagami River. The festival, held jointly with Sagamihara City was the first since 2019 to be held at full scale, following cancellations and a reduced-capacity festival due to COVID-19.
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\u201cThe Giant Kite Festival is an event that requires the involvement of a lot of people working together to make it successful,\u201d Sato said. \u201cI think this is a great opportunity for Soldiers from the U.S. Army in Japan to truly experience a traditional event that embodies the culture of Zama City and Japan.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few kites of varying sizes are constructed for the festival, but the centerpieces are the cities\u2019 two biggest kites, which are both about 14.5 square meters in size and weigh more than two tons each. The kites each take crews of more than 20 people to get and keep them in the air.<\/p>\n

In 2001, when Zama City was celebrating the 30th anniversary of its establishment of our city, handlers successfully flew a kite that was about 62 square feet in size\u2014a record that still stands in Japan today, Sato said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt defies physics, to me, just the sheer scope and size of the kites,\u201d Tomlinson said. \u201cIt shows you the craftsmanship and tradition, and how important it is to [the Japanese].\u201d<\/p>\n

Having USAG Japan leadership and Camp Zama community members at the festival helps enhance the partnership between Sagamihara City and USAG Japan, Motomura said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur city and USAG Japan often interact with each other on an official administrative level, but it is very meaningful for Sagamihara residents to be able to interact with USAG Japan families through a cultural event like this,\u201d he said. \u201cI would like to continue to deepen those interactions more and more moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Zama City Mayor Mito Sato purifies the city\u2019s giant kite with salt May 4 during the city\u2019s giant kite festival held jointly with Sagamihara City\u2019s festival near the Sagami River. The kite shown here is Sagamihara City\u2019s and is about 14 square meters in size and weighs about 2 tons. The kanji on the kite reads \u201chana-kaze,\u201d which means \u201cflower winds.\u201d
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\n U.S. Army Garrison Japan Commander Col. Christopher L. Tomlinson, right, thanks members of the Guam National Guard\u2019s 721st Army Band, who performed music May 4 during the jointly hosted giant kite festivals for Sagamihara and Zama cities held near the Sagami River.
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The festivals included other attractions and events, including a junior high school students\u2019 kite-flying activity, a children\u2019s sumo wrestling tournament, vendors from the sister cities of Sugakawa and Daisen, daytime fireworks, and a performance from the Guam National Guard\u2019s 721st Army Band.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was happy and grateful that we had the opportunity to move, together, out of COVID and to reinvigorate what is a great tradition,\u201d Tomlinson said. \u201cFor Camp Zama to be a part of that tradition moving forward, I think it\u2019s a great testament to our community relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A giant kite featuring popular Japanese cartoon characters Jibanyan (from the \u201cYokai Watch\u201d franchise), Doraemon and Pikachu is flown May 4 during the jointly hosted giant kite festivals for Sagamihara and Zama cities held near the Sagami River. This year was the first time since 2019 that both cities held their festivals at full scale, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9911,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9909"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9917,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9909\/revisions\/9917"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}