Golden Week and Koinobori

We're in the middle of the biggest national holiday week in Japan. This is Golden Week and it encompasses several holidays all bumped up against each other. It kicked off on April 29th when they celebrated Showa Day, the former emperor's birthday. Next comes Constitution Memorial Day on May 3rd - this celebrates the Japanese Constitution which was put in place in 1947. May 4th is Greenery Day - the Japanese personal version of Earth Day where they celebrate nature. Finally, on May 5th they celebrate kodomono-hi (Children's Day). About two months ago they celebrated girl's day, so May 5th is all children's day, with an emphasis on boys (since they don't have their own exclusive day).
The best part of Children's Day celebration, for me, are the strands of colorful carp kites that are strung outside houses and across rivers. Families with boys hang colorful carp kites, called koinobori, outside their houses - one for each boy, with the biggest representing the oldest boy at the top. In Japanese culture, the carp (or koi) represents courage and perseverance, as the fish is known for its strength and determination as it swims against the current upstream. The carp kite symbolises each family's wish for their sons to grow up brave and strong.

Today my neighbor (Liz and Lydia) and Emmy and I went to go see a display of the koinobori hanging over a river that I had read about. Persevering through terrible directions, we found the river, but not the kites. Our adventurous spirit though , led us to find a beautiful river walk, and eventually, the koinobori! There were probably a couple hundred kites ranging in color and size.