Flying carp help boys celebrate their annual day
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
Flying carp and other assorted fish were the catch of the day during yesterday's Boys' Day celebration around the state.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
In celebration of Boys' Day — or Children's Day, as May 5 is called in Japan — youngsters at Market City Shopping Center in Kaimuki learned how to make kites. At Ala Moana Center, children learned about arts and crafts, such as gyotaku (making prints of fish and baby octopus), as well as origami and miniature flower arrangements.
Jonathan Fung, 11, foreground, works on designing his kite, while his dad, Bennett, helps brother Raymond, 8, at Market City in Kaimuki.
The fifth day of the fifth month each year is designated as Boys' Day, set aside to honor males, just as the third day of the third month is Girls' Day.
In Japan as in Hawai'i, koi nobori — flying carp — make their annual appearance a week or two before Boys' Day. The usual practice is to fly a koi banner above the residence for each boy in the household.
The flying carp are usually made from painted or printed cotton or kettlecloth, but lighter-weight nylon versions also are available.
The koi is the best-known symbol for Boys' Day because carp are respected for their determination, particularly their power to swim upstream.
Paper carp or other related Boys' Day items — T-shirts imprinted with koi, gift boxes shaped like the fish — have become part of the ritual here.
Some households also display Boys' Day dolls and serve mochi and manju, traditional rice cakes and sweet desserts.
TEMARI, Center for Asian and Pacific Arts, is sponsoring the free arts-and-crafts festivities at Ala Moana Center. The event continues today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i also holds a Boys' Day celebration today, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with martial arts demonstrations, taiko drum performances, food and displays.
