A koi carp forcing its way up a waterfall, every scale outlined against the falling water, with rocks and spray on either side. The image comes from an old Chinese story: a carp that fights its way up the rapids at the Dragon Gate is transformed into a dragon. In Japan it stands for perseverance and for making your way in the world, which is why it belongs to Children’s Day in May.
🗣 Conversation Starters — for care activities and family time
“Have you ever seen a hanging scroll or a painting of a carp climbing a waterfall?”
“What did your family do for Children’s Day on May 5th?”
“Do you remember seeing carp when you were a child? Where was that?”
What is the legend of the carp climbing the waterfall?
In the story, a carp that struggles all the way up the rapids of the Dragon Gate, on the upper reaches of China’s Yellow River, is turned into a dragon. From it comes the word tōryūmon, “the Dragon Gate”, still used in Japanese for the hard test you have to get through to make your name. The same legend lies behind the carp streamers flown in May.
Why are carp displayed for Children’s Day?
On May 5th, families fly koinobori — carp streamers — or hang a scroll of the leaping carp, in the hope that a child will get through hard times and grow up strong, just as the carp climbs the falls. The custom took shape in the Edo period, when banners were raised for boys; the carp streamer itself is usually said to have spread among townspeople who took up the idea, though accounts of exactly how it began differ.
Can a carp really climb a waterfall?
Carp are unusually tough freshwater fish and can work their way up fast water; they have been observed climbing the fish ladders built beside dams. What they cannot do, of course, is reach the top and turn into a dragon. The legend grew out of something real enough — the sheer stubbornness of the fish.
