Koinobori

Landscapes across Japan are decorated with koinobori from April to early May, in honor of children for a good future and in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.

This is why, according to the Japanese American National Museum, in the traditional "children's song," the red one (higoi) represents the eldest son.

During the Edo period (1603–1867), samurai households began to decorate their yards with nobori or fukinuke (吹貫) flags, which were colored with mon (family crests) to represent military units, during Tango no Sekku.

The koi, known for its ability to swim upstream, represents courage, determination, and the hope that children will grow up healthily.

[9][10] This symbolism pays homage to the myth of longmen from the late Han dynasty, that a golden koi fish swam up a waterfall at the end of the Yellow River and became a dragon.

[9] Related Tango no sekku traditions include kite-flying, kite-fighting, the display of samurai dolls and miniature Japanese armor and helmets (kabuto) in the home, the bathing with iris in the bathtub, the consumption of Kashiwa mochi (sticky rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves) and shōbu-sake (sake soaked with thinly sliced iris root and leaves), and, in some areas, the tradition of making young boys crawl through the koinobori for good fortune.

屋根より　高い　鯉のぼり 大きい　真鯉は　お父さん 小さい　緋鯉は　子供たち 面白そうに　泳いでる yane yori takai koinobori ōkii magoi wa otōsan chiisai higoi wa kodomo-tachi omoshirosō ni oyoideru Higher than the roof-tops are the koinobori The large carp is the father The smaller carp are the children They seem to be having fun swimming.