- Koinobori
nihongo|Koinobori|鯉幟|Koi-nobori, meaning "carp banner" in Japanese, are
carp -shapedwind sock s traditionally flown inJapan to celebrate Children's Day ["Trend Illustrated Japanese-English Dictionary of Things Japanese", Shogakukan, 1999] . These wind socks are made by drawing carp patterns on paper, cloth or other nonwoven fabric. They are then allowed to flutter in the wind. They are also known as nihongo|satsuki-nobori|皐幟.Children's Day takes place on
May 5 . Landscapes across Japan are decorated with "koinobori" from April to early May, in honor of sons and in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.A "koinobori" set consists of, from the top of the pole down, a pair of nihongo|arrow-spoked wheels|矢車|yaguruma with a ball-shaped spinning vane, nihongo|flying-dragon streamer|飛龍吹流し|hiryū fukinagashi that looks like a
windsock , a black "koinobori" and a red "koinobori". If more boys are in the household, an additional blue, green and then purple "koinobori" are added. The red "koinobori's" color can be varied as orange or pink. These carp sets are flown above the roofs of houses with sons, with the biggest (black) "koinobori" for the father, next biggest (blue) for the eldest son, and ranging down to the smallest carp for the youngest son.These "koinobori" range from a few inches long to a few meters long. In 1988, a "koinobori" with length 100 m, and weight 350 kg was made in
Kazo, Saitama .There is a famous short "Koinobori" Song often sung by kids and their families:Japanese:
屋根より高い鯉幟
大きな真鯉はお父さん
小さな緋鯉は子供たち
面白そうに泳いでるRomaji :
"Yane yori takai koi-nobori"
"Ōki na magoi wa o-tō-san"
"Chiisa na higoi wa kodomo-tachi"
"Omoshirosō ni oyoideru
"
Translation:
"Higher than the roof-tops are the koinobori"
"The large Black Carp is the father"
"The smaller Golden Carp are the children"
"They seem to be having fun swimming."ee also
Dragon Boat Festival References
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