Donning the traditional paper samurai helmet (or kabuto), a visitor to Children's Day 2008 tries her hand at drumming with the Tanuki Taiko group.
Jonathan Ley
Children's Day has its roots in an older observance on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year: Tango no Sekku, a day for young samurai to honor the traditions of their warrior fathers and grandfathers and learn about the virtues of courage, loyalty, perserverance, and honor. Samurai families displayed suits of armor and heirloom swords, boys took part in mock battles, and family crests flew proudly from banners on bamboo poles above the rooftops of their homes. After World War II, the festival was broadened to include all children and renamed Kodomo no Hi, or Children's Day.
Shorinji Kempo students demonstrated their cooperative, Zen-based martial art and positive attitudes at Children's Day 2009.
Shorinji Kempo Portland Branch
Celebrated in Japan today on May 5, Children's Day festivities now emphasize the health and well-being of all children, and events have expanded to include athletic meets for boys and girls and outdoor activities of all kinds. Only the colorful koi banners that fly from apartment building balconies and miniature displays of replica helmets remind us of the festival's samurai past. Koi remain the enduring symbol of perseverance, for like the salmon, koi swim upstream against all odds to spawn, inspiring the Chinese legend of "Climbing the Dragon Gate," in which a fearless koi swims up a waterfall to become a dragon.