Mami Kiyoshi
 
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Takeuchi Yoshihiro and Tatsuishi Azusa, Magoji kite house
(Tobata, Kita-kyūshū, Fukuoka prefecture, 2018)

Takeuchi Yoshihiro and his daughter Azusa are the second and third generation to work at the Magoji workshop in Tobata, Kita-Kyūshū. This workshop was founded by Takeuchi Magoji, Yoshihiro's grandfather. Magoji had a bazaar where he sold the kites he made. He also invited neighborhood children before the New Year to make kites together. In this workshop, there has always been two working together; a man who works on bamboo and makes the bones and a woman who executes the kite paintings. At first, Magoji worked with his wife, Kimino. Then, when Yoshihiro took over the workshop, he also worked with his wife, Hideko. After she passed away, their daughter took over and is now in charge of the kite paintings. Yoshihiro learned when he was a child by watching his grandfather, and Azusa also learned when she was a child while observing her mother. So the photograph is taken from a rather low point of view like that of a child watching his parents.

Among the kites above their heads, there is: an eto kite with a dog painting, the animal of the year 2018 according to the Chinese calendar; a kite with the shape of a hagoita (racquet used by girls to play at New Year) with a motif of hina-matsuri (dolls festival), this is Azusa's favorite motif; a monochrome warrior's head painted by Hideko. The cicada at the top right is the first cicada kite made by Yoshihiro. The Magoji workshop produces many models, and this cicada kite is the most important: it's their mascot.

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