Mami Kiyoshi
 
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Ishikawa Noboru in front his kite garage,
(Yokosuka, Kakegawa, Shizuoka prefecture, 2018)

Ishikawa Noboru has been making Enshū Yokosuka kites as an amateur for forty years. There are eleven fixed forms of Enshū Yokosuka kites: bekkakō, Tomoe, Tongari, Atamagire, Tonbi, Semi, Beka, Buka, Shōsuke yakko, Yatsubana and Noshi. Thanks to the books published by the enlightened amateurs, Ishikawa Noboru self-taught himself to make these eleven kites; they are all present in the photograph. His great pride is his giant Tomoe, the one he is holding in the picture and which is about 4 meters tall. The photograph was taken in front of his garage where he puts his kites and kite making material. This garage is located near the small room that he uses as a workshop. At the corner of his workshop, of his garage, and of his house, there are small altars made of concrete, all of which were shaped by his father. Many more can be seen at the corners of the houses of Yokosuka. For a living, Noboru made pigments. One day, he received a big surplus of blue pigment. He painted his garage with it. When the door of the garage is closed, we can see the character "tako" (kite) written in a big black character. His passion for kites is no secret to anyone in the area. He has held several exhibitions of his kites, and he sometimes receives orders from local amateurs.

He was a big fan of the Edo kite maker, Hashimoto Teizō; he keeps safe a dedication from his idol which he received many decades ago, and which is presented on the panel placed on the right of the photograph.

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