96 - 05-05 Making kites
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"That's definitely a kite."
Mohut Village is a mountainous area with a lot of wind. It is not surprising that kites are flown there. Jin is not interested in the history of kites, but he is interested in kites themselves.
It brings back memories of making kites for the younger children at the orphanage.
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The kite here is a diamond shape with a longer bottom. It is a simple kite made of bones in a ten-syllabic pattern.
I wonder what they put on them instead of paper.
There is no Japanese paper in this world. You don't see paper either. We only see parchment or thin boards on which they write, so we are curious about what they are putting on the kite.
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"Oh, do you have one of those at your place too?
I turned around and saw the village headman standing there. Looking at him in the bright light, his tanned face looked like a piece of astringent paper, but he looked surprisingly young.
"Yes, but in a different shape.
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"I see. That's interesting. I hear that you are a magecraftsman. I know that kite making is child's play, but could you make one for us?
Jin is intrigued by the kind words, "Just one to pass the time," he says.
"By all means. I'd like to have the materials and stuff.
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"Of course.
So Jin went back to the village headman's house.
"Father? Are you going to cook something?
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Reiko, who had been teaching Jin how to cook his favorite dishes at the village headman's house, came over.
"Yes, a kite."
"A kite? In your father's place, kites are flown on New Year's, aren't they?"
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Reiko, whose knowledge of Hitoshi had been irregularly transcribed, seemed to know about kites.
"Yes. Winter is more windy."
The story is centered in the Kanto region, where the winter monsoon, known as the gale, blows. In Hamamatsu, the competition seems to be held in May, and in Nagasaki in April.
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Anyway, Jin was thinking about what kind of kite to make with the materials the village head had prepared for him.
"Hmmm, I didn't think they put tanned leather on it..." he said.
Leather of an animal similar to a goat living in the high mountains. It is white in color and very thin, but still heavier than paper.
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"It would be a bad idea to make a kite too elaborate.
So Jin decided on <
Based on a square or long rectangle, a line is drawn to divide it into four equal parts vertically, and the bones are attached to the left and right lines except the center of the rectangle.
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The standard line is the top third of the kite at both ends. If the line is shorter than that, the kite is what is called a "ceiling kite," or a kite that flies at high altitude, and if it is longer than that, it flies far.
If you cut a straight line from the string to the top of the left and right bones, you get a kite with a hexagonal shape with a longer lower part.
The kite is a little heavy, so we should make it shorter than one-third of the length.
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He made three kites with different shapes.
"Oh, you have already made it. ......This one is very different."
The chief of the village who came to check on the work voiced such a comment. Jin said it was just right,
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I would also like to paint on it. Do you have any paints?
Jin said, "Do you have any paints?
"Oh, you want to paint? That sounds interesting.
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He brought out some paints for dyeing leather.
Jin wondered what he was going to paint, and then he put red paint on the brush and wrote "<
What is it? What is this picture-like character?"
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Naturally, the village chief, who could not read Chinese characters, asked him. Jin answered,
"They are ancient characters that mean <
Jin answered, "It means <
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"Ah, a dragon in ancient Chinese characters, it certainly fits a flying kite, doesn't it?
Jin continued to write the character for "dragon" in blue and black on the other two kites. It was a good decision not to paint them.
Finally, the paints are finished by applying the <
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Now, let's see if we can make it fly.
"I'll go with you."
Reiko replies, of course. And then..,
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"I have some work to do. I'll see you later."
With that, the mayor retreated to his office.
With Reiko, Jin went out to the front and walked toward the direction where the kite was flying.
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On the top of the cliff that drops down to the east. Of course, there is a sturdy fence to prevent them from falling.
There were many children gathered there, some flying kites and some watching them.
There was one figure watching them.
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"...... Elsa?"
It was Elsa. She was not dressed in a dress, but in her normal clothes for a walk, with lace, decorative buttons, and the like, giving off the air of a well-bred woman.
"...... Jin-kun."
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Erza's face looked somewhat sad when she turned around.
"What are you looking at?"
"Kids. I thought it would be fun.
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"Why don't you just ask them to join us?"
Jin says, "Why don't you just talk to them?
"No. I'm not good with kids."
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He shakes his head. But Jin says,
"You don't hate them just because you don't like them, right?"
He showed her a kite in his hand. Erza looked at it and did not understand what it was,
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"...... Jin, you, what is it?"
A flexible kite is a kite that can be rolled up and carried around. If it is rolled up, it is not difficult to recognize it as a kite.
"It's a kite. Do you want to try to fly it?"
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You say,
"A kite? A kite?
he seemed to be interested in it.
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"I'll go to ......."
"Okay."
Some people (Reiko) were frowning a little, but Jin took Elsa and walked to where the children were flying kites.
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The first thing he noticed was the younger children who were just watching the kite flying. They were swarming around Jin and the others.
"Big brother, aren't you the Okkyusan who comes to Souchou-san's place?"
"Hey, hey, what's that in your hand?"
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"You're beautiful, big sister. Are you a little girl?
Are you a little girl? You're a guest too, aren't you?
The last was directed at Reiko. The children gathered here look about Reiko's age. They seem to feel a kinship with Reiko.
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"Listen everyone, this is a kite too. I'm going to let you fly it."
Jin hands one of the kites to Erza. It is a kite with the word "dragon" written on it in red.
"Me?
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"Yes, you did," he says.
"But ...... I've never flown a kite before."
When Erza hesitated, Jin asked her,
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"Don't worry. The kite I built won't fall down just a little bit."
Unable to refuse his words, Erza accepted the kite and the string. She heads for the place where the kite is to be flown.
The children notice her and make room for her. They are right in the middle of the kite flying.
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"Uh-uh."
Pushing behind Elsa's back, Jin..,
"There they go, there they go. It's easy to get along with kids, you just have to play with them from the same perspective.
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"...... got it."
With determination, Elsa walks up to the fence and unfurls her kite. The flexible kite spreads out with the wind from the turn of the wheel. Then Elsa lets go of the hand holding the kite.
The flexible kite pulls the string with the wind, and the ball of string in Elsa's hand loosens up rapidly. And the kite soared into the sky.
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"Oh, wow! It really flew!
"Wow!"
The older kite-flying children were amazed at the kite's uncoordinated flight without a tail, a weight to balance the kite.
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"You're so good!"
Some of the children mistakenly believe that Elsa is skillfully controlling the kite.
The flexible kite was flying its
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