The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-06-05

and the paper is very thin and light,
but tough and strong. At Tokyo the
boys fly bird-shaped kites very sim
liar to the Chinese kites. The fan
kite is a perfect imitation of Japan
csc fan, with the paper pasted full
over the face so that the wind can
| blow it out like a parachute.
Kite flying begins in our country
about the first of March, butt Japan
the season opens the first of the
month, at New Year, and from that
time till summer the air is pretty full
of the toys. The boys of Tokyo have
invented a musical instrument made
of light bamboo and strings which
they attach to the head of their kites,
and when the wind is blowing stiff
breeze a musical, humming sound is
made.
This humming has peculiar, far
| away sound that a stranger would be
unable to locate. When dozen kites
are flying in the air from one spot, the
noise can be heard some distance
away. Naturally the japanese boys
are fond of making all the noise with
their kites they can.
In the Malay Peninsula kite flying
is also popular sport among the ma
tives. At the Worlds Fair in Chica-
go a collection of Malay kites was ex-
hibited. These were SO beautifully
modelled and scientifically constructed
that American kite flyers made a
special study of them. They repre-
sented many birds and beasts and
objects of nature.
The Koreans are expert kite flyers,
and even the King takes hand at
the sport occasionally. They are
made in the rectangular form, with
pieces of colored paper pasted all over
them to give brilliant effect when
floating in the air. They have no
tails, and in this respect they ap-
proach the nearest to the scientific
kites now employed in this country
for meteorological experiments. A
peculiar custom among the Korean
kite flyers is to dip their silken
strings in fish glue, and then draw
them through powdered glass. The
string makes good knife or saw, and
when it comes in contact with the
string of another kite, one or the
other is apt to be cut in two. The
boys seem to enjoy this sort of sport
and each one prides himself upon the
number of kite strings he sewers in
the course of the day.
After the middle of the first month
of the year kite flying in Korea prac-
tically ceases, and it is then just as
much out of fashion to be seen with
one as it is to wear straw hats in the
middle of winter in the United States.
As final closing act of the kite sea-
son little slips of paper with Korean
characters on them are pasted over
the face of the kite, and sometimes
they are written on the bamboo
frame. These characters simply ex-
press the wish that coming misfor-
tunes will be carried away with the
kite. A piece of twisted sulphur pa
per is attached to the string near the
kite, and lighted before it is put up
into the air. When the kite is hun
bred feet high the paper burns out,
the string is parted by the flames,
and the kite goes sailing away to
some unknown part of the country,
presumably carrying with it all the
impending misfortunes of the little
owner
In New Zealand kite flying has
been a popular sport for centuries,
and among the natives of the South
Sea Islands the kite is looked upon
with superstitious reverence. Some
of the natives have practical turn
of mind. and they employ the kite for
fishing purposes.
In Europe the kite is more modern
than in any of the countries above,
but mention Of them here dates back
to 1890. In Asia, however, the kite is
such an ancient institution that it is
difficult to fix its birth in China, Ko-
rea, Japan, India, Siam, Burmah, or
the Malay Islands. The origin must
have resulted from desire to imi-
tate the flight of the birds in the air.
The. natives consequently patterned
nearly all of their early kites after the
birds, and subsequently Incorporated
the deities and animal world in their
system of flying objects.-1he Ad-
Udnce.