Kodomo no Hi, Children’s Day


Saturday, May 5, 2012
1-3 p.m. throughout the Garden
Included with Garden admission

Jonathan Ley

Once again this year, the Portland Japanese Garden celebrates Kodomo no Hi with a variety of children’s activities and performances for families, including a  Taste of Tea for children in the Garden’s Kashintei Tea House, the raising of our brilliantly colored new koi nobori carp banners, the making of paper kabuto helmets and paper koi kites, taiko drumming, and other perennially popular Children’s Day activities for the entire family.

This event is underwritten in part by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.

Kodomo no Hi in Japanese Tradition

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 youngsamurai 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 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.

“Our family really enjoyed Kodomo No Hi at the Portland Japanese Garden. My boys had a wonderful time using the map as a scavenger hunt. They did not want to leave! I enjoyed the serenity and the nostalgia, which reminded me of walking in a park with Oobaasan so long ago. I am very happy that there is a place nearby that I can bring my children to help them appreciate their quarter-Japanese heritage.”

- Visitors to Kodomo no Hi -