Fly, air fish, fly!

May 5th is Children's Day (こどもの日 / kodomo no hi) in Japan, formerly known as Boy's Day (端午の節句 / tango no sekku). Leading up to the holiday, families will put up these carp streamers, called koinobori (鯉幟). They kind of look like they are swimming when the wind blows.

Depending on who you ask you may get different answers, but usually the black is for dad, the red for mom, and the smaller ones (usually blue and green) are for the kids. Traditionally they were for sons only, but as the day is now Children's Day and not Boy's Day, daughters are included.

But it really does depend on the family. Girls have their own holiday in March, so many families still keep this one centered around boys, and many of the traditional events and displays are still focused on boys.

So, the real question is why carp? Well, according to Chinese legend, carp swim upstream to become dragons, which is, of course, what all Japanese parents want for their kids. Or maybe they just want them to become successful and not actually become dragons. Details, details. Either dragons or successful people, take your pick.

At any rate, it was a very windy day when I took this photo and these guys were really swimming enthusiastically on the breeze. They are very good air swimmers. Watching them blow around is really kind of hypnotic, like watching a lava lamp.

	David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.