Japanese Carp Streamers(Koinobori)
Japanese Carp Streamers( Koinobori, 鯉幟)
Carp streamers or carp-shaped windsocks are also known as “koinobori” in Japanese decorate the landscape from April through early May, in honor of Children’s Day (kodomo no hi) on May 5, on this day parents who have a newborn baby boy celebrate their son’s birth by flagging carp streamers in the sky, above the roofs of houses, outside shops, and in the countryside, strung out over rivers. This day was designated as Boys Day or tango no sekku.
The carp streamer is a Japanese symbol of masculinity and success in life, the large koi are a symbol of the courage, strength and determination to overcome all obstacles, it stands for courage and the ability to attain high goals because it the most spirited of fish, its ability to swim up a waterfall. The Japanese families traditionally flew koinobori from their in front of house to honour their sons.
The streamers are made by colourful decorated paper, cloth, nonwoven fabric etc .The sizes of streamer generally with length 100 meters, and weight 350 kg was made in Kazo, Saitama.
The koinobori set are consists of streamers, made of paper or cloth, from the top of the bamboo or wooden pole down.
The top of the pair of two arrow- shaped spokes wheels (yaguruma) with a ball-shaped spinning vane, symbols of warfare.
The top of the carp streamers is represents the streamer with colorful stripes (Fukinagashi). This one is of five lucky colors, but sometimes they are made of red and white (koohaku) only, another auspicious combination. These streamers were used during battle in olden times to indicate the whereabouts of a brave warriors.
The largest and uppermost, black carp streamer represents the father of the house (Magoi).
The red carp streamer represents the mother of the house (Higoi).
The blue carp streamer one represents the boy.
The other carp streamers are children.
A koinobori set can cost anything from 10,000 yen (US$100) to 60,000 yen (US$600). Ours was 40,000 yen and some change. Not cheap by any means, but you only have to buy them once, you use them year after year, and up close they are actually pretty freaking cool.
admin on June 8th, 2009 | File Under Japanese Culture, Japanese Festival, Japanese stuff | No Comments -
The Eel Eating Day (Doyou no ushi no hi, 土用の牛の日) 
Doyo means “the end of the season”,are the days which mark the 18 days before the beginning of each season in the lunar calendar and Ushi no Hi, literally means day of the ox, from of old Japanese believed that each part of the day follows the 12 animals of zodiac signs for designation cycles of time, They are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig, animals were used to represent certain text about “Doyo Ushi no Hi”(the Ox day of the hottest period).
Doyo no Ushi no Hi on July 20th as known as the hottest day of the year(temperature about 35-36°C and high humidity in summer),is a special mid-summer day dedicated to eating eels(Unagi, 鰻)because eels are very nutritious foods and can restore people’s vitality and then beat the summer heat, a great source of high quality protein, calcium, vitamin A, B1, B2, D, E, high in EPA (which lowers blood cholesterol) and DHA (sometimes called “brain food,” it is thought to enhance mental acumen), which is popular summertime fare. On Doyo ushi no hi, you will find eels sold at every supermarkets, the shopping arcade, restaurants, convenience stores and Long advertisement flags (nobori) are often around to promote sales. And then you can see a salesman or fishmonger with some freshly grilled eel for sale.
Health and Sports Day or Sports Day is a national holiday in Japan held annually on the second Monday of October. It was established to commemorate the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics Games being held in Tokyo (October 10-24). It has been a public holiday since 1966. Until 1999 the holiday was on October 10, but beginning in 2000 it has been moved to the second Monday of the month. It’s a day to promote physical and mental health of the people through the enjoyment of sports and one of the best opportunities in Japan to see children and their families up close.
Many sports events and fun games are held on this day. In this sports day typically consist of a range of physical events ranging from more traditional track-and-field events such as the 100 metres , 200m running, 4 x 100 metres relay match, rope pulling (tsunahiki), and a lot of recreation games competing two or three groups. as the tug of war and the mock cavalry battle (kibasen???,) and a lot of recreation games competing two or three groups,the reversible red and white caps which allow pupils to play for either side. As the autumn weather is particularly conducive to sport, a number of other national and regional contests are held at this time. The winning team is decided based on the efforts of the team as a whole. Individuals are not specifically identified.
This is primarily done on the last evening of the Buddhist festival of Obon, which is celebrated throughout Asia, paper lanterns are placed by the graves of deceased relatives: a red one for a relative that passed away during previous years and a white one for the recently deceased, a way to supposedly guide the spirits of the departed back to the other world. Recently, travellers from foreign countries come from far and wide to see this spectacle; can feel the quiet and beautiful atmosphere.
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