In Hamamatsu, it is said that the custom of flying kite to celebrate the birth of the children–initially the first sons–date back the middle of the 16th century, while at the occasion of the birth of Yoshihiro, the first son of Iio Buzen-no-kami who was ruling the Hikuma Castle (Hamamatsu), someone flew a kite with the child name written on it. With time, more and more people started to fly kites around tango no sekku (Boy's Day celebration, May 5) to celebrate the birth of first sons.

This custom later led to the establishment of the “Hamamatsu kite flying”, which started being an organized event at the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, after the war, the event changed name from “Hamamatsu kite flying” (Hamamatsu tako-age) to “Hamamatsu Festival” (Hamamatsu matsuri), and thus it also changed shape. The idea of making it a touristic event for both domestic and international tourists grew along the last decades and is even more prominent now that the Tokyo Olympics are getting closer. During this presentation, we will analyze the place which is still given to the private activities related to the celebration of the local newborns during a festival which now aim to be a showopen to anyone.