A cat and a dog ride a koinobori — the carp-shaped streamer flown in Japan for Children’s Day on 5 May. The two animals are small and simple; the carp fills most of the page, and its scales run in soft curved rows, which is what makes this one satisfying to work through. A good picture for a May craft session at home or in class. Free to download and print.
A koinobori is a carp-shaped windsock flown outside Japanese homes for Children’s Day on 5 May. Families hoist them high so the wind fills them and they appear to swim, carrying the wish that the children of the house grow up healthy and strong. A modern set is usually a black carp, a red one and one or more blue or green ones, and today they are commonly read as father, mother and children — though that family reading is a fairly recent convention. In older sets the red carp stood for the child.
🐟 What kind of fish is a carp?
Carp are large freshwater fish that live in ponds and rivers, strong enough to hold their own against a current. The Japanese phrase koi no takinobori — a carp climbing the waterfall — comes from a Chinese legend about the Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, where a carp that fought its way up the falls was said to become a dragon. That story is why the carp, rather than any other fish, ended up on the pole.
🐱🐶 What colours should the cat and the dog be?
In the color sample the cat is an orange tabby and the dog is brown and white, beagle-style. Nothing says you have to follow it — pick your own colours and the pair become your own characters. The same goes for the carp: red is the obvious choice, but a black or a blue one is just as correct, since real koinobori sets come in all three.
