Ikazaki Kite Museum and Giant Kite Festival

Located in the prefecture of Ehime on the island of Shikoku is the small town of Ikazaki. The town is famous for the three grades of high quality paper made there, and for the Giant Kite Battle on the river that flows along the valley. There is an excellent kite museum there, and we traveled by train to see it. The valley is quite remote, but there will soon be a highway linking it to the main cities. We were impressed by the quality of the museum and with the people we met. The director of the museum arranged for an English speaking teacher to assist us when we arrived.

The kite battle takes place over the river, and special line cutters are on the line to cut the kites down during the fighting. The kites are bowed in the center for flying.