Japanese Jottings

Prayers for Healthy and Strong Children

Children's Day is a national holiday on 5 May in Japan that celebrates the healthy, happy growth of children. Families with young boys fly colourful, carp-shaped streamers called koinobori in front of their houses in the hope that they will grow up healthy and strong.

Koinobori fly in front of a house. The carp-shaped streamers below the five-coloured fukinagashi represent the father, mother and two children in the family (© photo courtesy of AFLO).