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Sunday, May 3, 2009

Japanese Holiday: Boy's Day

This Tuesday, May 5th will be Boy's Day (Tango no Sekku). I got all the decorations out for this special day to display in our house. We will be hanging the koi fish (pictured above) outside our house. The carp is a popular symbol of the celebration which represents courage, strength, and perseverance. I will also have on display a small Japanese sword, bow and arrows. They were my husband's as a child and have been passed down to my son. We also celebrate the day by getting my son small gifts.

We purchased this koi fish in Japan town. It's a little unusual in that it's handmade. I think that's why I liked it so much. Most of the koi fishes I see here in the states are commercially made. Often they are made out of nylon and the image is printed on the fish.

Japanese sword, bow & arrows

Close up of ornamentation on the bow & arrows

8 comments:

Drea said...

:) I love the carp. It is a lot nicer then the generic nylon ones.

What I'd really love is a doll set for girl's day.

alexander said...

Oh have a great day!

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Ayie said...

Such a wonderful occasion, very menaingful to the boys. I love the samurai and bow and arrow. Very authentic!

Haven't visited Japan town and I bet i'll enjoy it there.

APO (Bem-Trapilho) said...

very nice!
loved your blog! :)

SK said...

Too bad there's no boys' day in Australia.
Would be nice to have that as part of the culture.

Christy Amular said...

I've seen this holiday being featured on NHK. What a beautiful celebration. Those fish lanterns are just so pretty!

Liz said...

Happy boy's day to your little guy!

dianeinjapan said...

Love the handmade koi--a great find!

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