Introducing Shirone Kite Festival 2025, a traditional culture rooted in Minami Ward, Niigata, and Shirone Kite and History Museum, where you can learn about the history of Shirone Kite Festival!

  • Niigata
  • Sightseeing
The big kites flying in the sky!
The Shirone Great Kite Festival, to be held from June 5 (Thu.) to 9 (Mon.), 2025, is a traditional event held every year in early June in the Shirone and Nishishirane areas of Minami-ku, Niigata City. Across the Nakanokuchi River, approximately 300 giant kites as large as 24 tatami mats are flown from both banks of the river, and the kites entwine with each other and pull each other until the rope breaks.

A heroic picture scroll of a battle with a 300-year tradition! Shirane Kite Battle

Niigata City Minami-ku is located in the center of the Niigata Plain and consists of three cities and villages: the former Shirane City, the former Tamata Village, and the former Tsukigata Village. The Shinano River, the largest river in Japan, flows on the east side of the district, and the Nakanokuchi River runs through the center of the district, creating a verdant rural area. The Shirane Kite Festival is a kite battle that takes place between the Shirane district and the Nakanokuchi district on opposite sides of the Nakanokuchi River. 24-mat kites are flown, entwined in mid-air, and dropped into the river, where they tug at each other's ropes, a breathtakingly powerful moment. The Shirane Kite Festival was recognized as a cultural heritage of Niigata citizens on March 13, 2014, and was also designated as an intangible folk cultural asset of Niigata Prefecture on March 24, 2015.

Shirone Great Kite Battle

The Beginning of Shirane Kite Battle

In the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), people in Shirane Town flew a kite sent by a feudal lord to celebrate the completion of renovation work on the Nakanokuchi River embankment, and it fell on Nishishirane on the opposite bank, damaging houses and crops. The people of Nishishirane, angered by this, flew a kite in response and knocked it down on the Shirane side, which is said to be the origin of the kite battle. The kites were made so that they would fly toward the other side, and further improvements were made to the techniques of the predecessors, which have continued to the present day. Each kite group has its own characteristics, and there are differences in the way they fly and hang their kites, but they keep the traditions and improve their techniques to make and fly as many kites as possible.
Various kinds of kites

Highlights of Shirane Kite Battle 2025

The main attraction of the Shirane Kite Festival is the tug-of-war battle after the giant kites intertwine in the air and fall into the river. From the spectator seats, visitors can experience the realism of kite flying and tug-of-war up close, and there is also a chance to jump in and participate. During the festival, parades and children's kite battles are also held, which are popular with families!
Flying a large kite

Introducing the fun of the tug-of-war battle

Here are some ways to enjoy the actual Shirane Oikite Kite Battle.

Wait for your opponent at low altitude!

First, you and your opponent across the river will time your flying. First, the kite on the Shirane side is flown over the embankment on the West Shirane side, and waits for the opponent at low altitude.

Timing your move...

Pull the big kite!

Let's see..! It's the beginning of the battle!

Put all your strength into cutting the other kite's rope!
If the kites fail to break the rope within the time limit, each game will be a draw. If the kites are separated before the pull, it is called "nakiwakare" and the match is not allowed. The games described here are the basic patterns of how to determine the winner. In actual kite battles, multiple kites may be hung together, and the number of winners and losers will vary depending on the situation.

The kites used in the competition are the fruit of a year's worth of sweat work.
After the battle is over, the wreckage of the kites is cleaned up. We are grateful for the kites that have carried everyone's spirit, and we clean up after them carefully.

What are the details of Shirone Ohkite Kite Battle?

I hope you could feel the power of the Shirane Great Kite Festival, which has a long history of about 300 years, with traditional patterns and techniques passed down from one group to another. Please refer to the "2025 Pamphlet" for detailed information on the date, time, and location of the event♪

More information about the Shirone Kite Festival

Date and Time: June 5 (Thu.) - 9 (Mon.), 2025, 13:00 - 18:00
・Kids' Kite Battle: June 4 (Wed.), from 14:00
・Parade and Opening Ceremony: June 5 (Thu.)
Venue: Minami-ku, Niigata City / on the bank of Nakanokuchi River (between Kite Mihashi Bridge and Shirane Bridge)
Pamphlet for 2025
Subject to partial change. Please understand in advance.
For more information about Shirone Kite Festival, visit

Shirone Ohkite and History Museum" to learn about the history of Ohkites

In Minami-ku, Niigata City, there is a facility where you can learn about the Shirane Great Kite Battle and the fascination of kites. It is one of the world's largest kite museums with a collection of rare kites from Japan and around the world. The museum is equipped with a three-dimensional video room where visitors can experience the atmosphere of a kite battle, a kite workshop where visitors can try their hand at making kites, and a kite-flying laboratory. The museum also exhibits historical and folklore materials that show the history of Shirone, making it a unique facility that is very popular with children, who can learn while playing.
Hall of Shirone Ohkite and History Museum

Try your hand at making a mini kite!

The Shirone Kite and History Museum is recommended for visitors with children, as they can experience the joy of making and flying kites. At the kite workshop, you can complete your kite by attaching a bamboo frame to a piece of paper and tying a string. Visitors can then experience kite flying in the wind tunnel laboratory, where winds of up to 4 meters per second blow out from the back of the kite. Free shuttle buses run between this facility and the venue during the kite battle, so be sure to stop by.
Ookite Hall
For more information about Shirone Kite Museum, visit
*The contents and services in this article are subject to change.
*All images are for reference only.
*Image courtesy of Niigata City Minami Ward Office.

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