Japan History and Culture

Japanese Carp Streamers song (Koinobori song)

All over Japan you will see this carp streamers (koinobori) flying in the wind, sometimes as early as from March until the 5th day of the 5th month. The 5th of May is called Children’s Day (kodomo no hi) in Japan.

This is a famous short Koinobori Song often sung by kids and their families.

Japanese:

屋根(やね)より高(たか)い鯉幟(こいのぼり)

大(おお)きな真鯉(まこい)はお父さん

小(ちい)さな緋鯉(ひごい)は子供(こども)たち

面白(おもしろ)そうに泳(およ)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.

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.

Flat Marbles (Ohajiki, 御弾き, おはじき)

Ohajiki is a traditional game for Japanese children, especially girls. In the past, they used roll shells, pebbles or pieces from another game, but now they use flat ball made with small coin-shaped colures ceramic, glass or plastic, and whose diameter is 1-1.5 cm The name of game came from playing by snapping or flicking (“hajiki” in Japanese word) with the fingers.a game similar to marbles. This game became very popular as an indoor game for girls during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1867).

How to play

1. All players sit down on the floor and all players place the same number of ohajiki on the floor, and then do jan ken pon (rock, paper, scissors) to determine who goes first.

2. The first player gathers everyone’s pieces using one hand and then scatters ohajiki 20 pieces on a table or on the floor.

3. The player can only touch the disc, Shoot (flipping or snapping) one of the two pieces to hit another. If the player successfully hits one of the other players’ discs she can keep it.

4. But if player cannot hit, player does not get to keep any of them, then it is the next player’s turn. The person who acquires the most pieces is the winner.

Sacred Shinto rope or Shimenawa (注連縄, しめかざり)

Shimenawa are sacred rope with strips of white   paper (gohei). These ropes made from  rice straw or hemp which is braided before being bound with string. A wood or wire insert is often used to cause the shimenawa to preserve its shape.

The Shimenawa for decorations Japanese New Year (OShogatsu or shogatsu), used for ritual purification in the Shinto Religion. These are usually hung from the shrine gate (torii) and before above entrance of houses or a shrine precinct, the inner sanctuary of a shrines or a ritual site, to ward off evil spirits. Japanese people used to mark trees that are believed to be inhabited by spirits called Kodama. Cutting down these trees is thought to bring misfortune.

Izumo Taisha Shrine, also called as Izumo Ōyashiro (出雲大社) has the giant a sacred rope (shimenawa), lengths and weights of 13 meters, 5 tons, and 8 meters, 1.5 tons respectively. They change it every three years.

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.

There are many types of eel dishes:

•Kabayaki(蒲焼) – grilled eel on skewers and grilled with sweet soy sauce-base sauce (kabayaki sauce) before broiled on a grill.

•Unagi-don orUnagi-donburi (鰻丼)- Bowl of rice topped with grilled eel.

•Kimosui(肝吸い) – A small bowl of clear soup made from eel livers, often served as part of a set, whose vitamin D content is reputed to be good for the eyesight.

•Shirayaki(白焼き)- plain grilled eel without basting sauce for flavourings. This is usually eaten with a dip of plain soy sauce (shoyu) with wasabi.

•Unagi sushi (鰻寿司)- finger pieces of eel on rice sushi style.

•Uzaku(鰻ざく) – grilled eel with sliced cucumber in a sanbaizu (vinegar sauce) dressing.