Carp Streamer

("Koinobori")

1. What are Carp streamers("koinobori")?

Flying Carp Streamers("koinobori") are one of the traditional events in Japan.
5th of May has been traditionally called "Children's Day" in Japan.On this day parents who have a newborn baby boy celebrate their son's birth by flagging carp streamers in the sky. Even now, you can see carp streamers flying in the sky here and there especially in the countryside of Japan.

2.Why is 5th of May the Children's day?

The origin of Carp Streamer is streamers flown by Samurai warriors when they fought in the battlefield in medieval times. There are two theories on the derivation of date of Children's Day: One is that the day is for the commemoration of defending against attacks by the Mongolian invasion. On 5th of May is the day that allied Japanese Samurai force beaten Mongolian forces, which we call Genko in the 13th century. The other is that in the 14th century, the Shogun, Takauji Ashikaga achieved the unification of Japan on the day.
The design of the streamer was not originally a carp, at first it was the crest of each Samurai family. Then it changed into a picture of Samurai warrior and carp designed streamers appeared in the 17the century.

3.Why carp is used for the design?

The carp design is derived from a Chinese legend. In the legend, a carp which could successfully run up against a waterfall becomes a dragon (in Japan, it is believed that there are millions of gods and dragon is thought to be one of them). From this legend, carp is thought to be a symbol of success and people in Japan began to fly Carp Streamers to wish their child future success.

　

　

　

　

4.Family of carp streamers

The top of the carp streamers is a streamer("Fukinagashi").
The black carp streamer is a father.
The red carp streamer is a mother.
The other carp streamers are chirdren.

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