Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 20:52:15 -1000 From: dgomberg@ednet1.osl.or.gov (David Gomberg) Message-Id: <4e4kuv$bug@ednet1.osl.or.gov> Organization: Eastern Oregon State College Subject: Answer - Trivia Question #20 - Hata Fighters >One of the best known fighter kites is the Hata fighter >kite of Nagasaki Japan. Traditional Hatas are *always* >made in red, white, and blue. Why?? Peter de Jong writes: >Easy question for a Dutch flier. >Beacause in the 17th (?) the Dutch were the only ones >allowed to trade with the Japanese. They weren't >allowed on the mainland but had to stay on a island >called Decima. The red white and blue Hata is a >reminder of the dutch flags over Decima. And you should mention that Delcima is very close to Nagasaki. So yes, the colors are reminiscent of the Dutch flag. But the Hata is also quite distinctive as the only "Indian Style" fighter in Japan. So the rest of the story is that the Dutch may have brought Indian fighters from their trading ports in India or Indonesia. Another theory is that the kites were spread by Buddhist monks. Interesting how our kite traditions get spread around... BTW - Lot's of people mentioned the colors of the Dutch flag. Good work! -- David Gomberg phone 503-996-3083 Box 113, Neotsu Oregon 97364 USA fax 503-994-9692 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =