Rokkaku Kites

Reliable And High-Flying Without Tails!

Rokkaku kites are dependable, steep fliers and tail-less. Here's a few we have seen over the years, with comments.

All Rokkakus have one vertical spar and two bowed horizontal spars, forming a six-sided figure when covered with sail material. In theory, a single-point bridle could work, but most Roks have at least 4-point bridles to keep them steady in the air.

We've been to few kite festivals over the years and taken plenty of photos. There's a few Rokkaku pictures among them, so see below for a few large and elaborately decorated examples.

Would you like to have a go at actually making a simple Rok that flies well? Just check out these PDF eBooks on the 1-skewer series, 2-skewer series and dowel series of MBK kites. The Rokkaku is number 5 in all three series.

Rokkaku Kites We Have Seen At Festivals

Here's 6 Rokkakus, each with a unique decorative design on the sail. Firstly, 3 Roks with face designs from Japan. Yep, the 'real deal'. We saw these being flown by men in traditional kite-flying garb. Next comes a modern design, another traditional but non-face design and finally an ad for a local kite shop!

This stern Sumarai looks like he is about to lop your head off with a sharp sword... At least, that was my first impression. It might actually be a Japanese deity or something else entirely! Anyway, it's a traditionally decorated Japanese Rokkaku.

For reasons known only to the Japanese, this fearsome toothy character has powdered his nose completely white... Another traditional Rokkaku.

What is it with the white noses? Another striking face on a Rok kite.

I really like this design. A simple, but highly effective 3D graphic in bold colors. Perfect!

Distinctly Asian in form and color, the painting on this large Rok really stood out against the pale blue sky. Nice one!

So it's advertising a local kite shop... What the heck, it's a very nice Rok!

The MBK Rokkaku Kites

Now for the 3 MBK Rokkaku kites. These are all made from very cheap and widely available materials. Instructions and plans for making all 3 may be found elsewhere on this site.

This dinky little number is called the 1-Skewer Rokkaku. You see, the vertical spar is a 29 cm (1 foot) bamboo BBQ skewer. The original was made from clear freezer-bag plastic, which made it almost impossible to see against a grey sky. A good little moderate wind flier though, with that tail for extra stability.

We fly this one on 50 meters (150 feet) of 20 pound line. It doesn't need that strength, but we also fly our 2-skewer kites on the same line....

The 2-Skewer Rokkaku has a span of 2 skewer lengths, or about 58 c.m. On a 20 pound line, this kite loves thermal weather and scoots around directly overhead when in rising air.

The kite pictured has 2-ply plastic which makes it a little heavier, but it is still a great performer in light winds.

The largest of the MBK Rokkaku kites so far. With plenty of sail area, this one does well in light conditions despite the extra weight of dowel.

Size? It's about twice as tall as the 2-Skewer Rokkaku, so that's about 4 times the sail area. Compared to the 1-Skewer Rokkaku, the Dowel Rokkaku has about 16 times as much sail area!

That's about it for this page on Rokkaku Kites. Hope you enjoyed the pics!

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Last updated: 22 Dec 2009