The Japanese also celebrate a feast dedicated to the carp ? very much like our Nikulden Feast of Fish. The feast is called ?Koi Nobori?, meaning ?carp swimming against the current??. In the past, when a boy was born at the samurai?s home, a flag with the family herald was erected in the family garden. Weapons, helmets and flags used to adorn the house?s front door. Later on, the ?Koi Nobori? replaced the flags and stood proudly as home decoration.
The carp is a type of fish that usually demonstrates unique will for life and could live in clear as well as muddy water, and is generally considered a ?brave fish?.
Chinese people have the legend about the carp that swam against the strong river current and climbed up the waterfall ?The Dragon?s Gate?, turned into a dragon and raised high in the skies. The image of the carp embodied the hope that the kid would be able to fight all difficulties and would grow physically and spiritually to be a good person, able to get responsibility for all his/her actions?.
The photo above: Japanese dolls exhibition in the hall of the Plovdiv Museum of History