New shoots
Well I’ve been here in Japan for 5 months, the last 2 of which have been trying to sustain myself over the summer both financially and spiritually. And on both counts, I think it’s time to call it a day. I’ve decided to head back to the UK, temporarily, but depending on a few things, possibly for longer.
Koi-noburi flying
I’ve always loved the Japanese carp flags (koi-noburi) and their futile yet graceful struggle against the wind, but until today I never knew why they were flown.
We’re coming to the end of Golden Week, a fantastic week for Japanese with 4 national holidays falling within a seven-day stretch. Midori no hi (みどりの日, Greenery Day, April 29), kenpou kinenbi (憲法記念日, Constitutional Memorial Day, May 3), kokumin no kyuujitsu (国民の休日, Citizen’s Holiday, May 4) and finally kodomo no hi (こどもの日, Children’s Day) – today.
Until 1948, the 5th day of the 5th month was known as tango no sekku (端午の節句). Tan means edge or ‘start of’ and go represents the 7th sign of the zodiac, which corresponds to the month of May. Sekku means seasonal festival. So it translates as a start of season (spring) festival and in ancient times was a celebration of new beginnings. But tango no sekku has come to mean Boy’s Festival – an auspicious day when parents pray for the health and success of their sons.
The carp was chosen as it is seen as the most spirited of fish, able to power its way up fast-flowing streams. It stands for courage and success in the face of adversity and is a symbol of manliness and the overcoming of life’s difficulties.
PS It’s interesting that although it’s been redesignated as Children’s Day, it still remains dominated by the tango no sekku traditions. There is a separate girls’ day, but it doesn’t have anywhere near as cool flags 
It’s the end of the season here. The melt is kicking in, I’ve finished work, goodbyes are being said, grass is reappearing, things are changing. It’s a schizophrenic time of year; sad because the unique set of people and circumstances that made up this season will never be again, yet exciting, flowers start to bloom, people are off to new places, new adventures, new friends. It’s OK to be sad about times gone past, but in the words of Semisonic ‘Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end’.
Synchronicity or not, but I was chatting with a friend earlier today and she reminded me of another Robert Frost poem I love:
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.