Kodomo No Hi

Today is Children’s Day, a national holiday in Japan. Although the current name of the holiday is not gender-specific, the holiday has traditionally been a festival for boys (there is a girls’ festival in March that isn’t a national holiday). On Children’s Day, carp flags — symbolizing strength, determination and long life — fly outside many homes.
Driving through the hills near Japan’s northern alps yesterday, we came across several long collections with dozens of the carp flags stretched across valley and rivers. The flags above were just outside of Hakuba.