No. 03 · Lucky Creatures
Koi, the carp
- Kanji
- 鯉
- Reading
- こい · koi
In Japan, the carp is the fish that never gives up.
What it means
An old legend tells of carp swimming up the Yellow River. Only the one that leaps up the waterfall at the Dragon Gate turns into a dragon. In Japanese, tōryūmon — “climbing the Dragon Gate” — still means passing the decisive test of your career.
On Children’s Day, 5 May, families fly koinobori: windsocks shaped like carp, one for each child, wishing them strength and success.
Koi in garden ponds can live for decades, and their colours are bred like works of art. A red-and-white kōhaku is the classic.
At the sushi counter
Koi aren’t a sushi fish. You’ll find them in the garden pond, not on the counter — though in some regions thinly sliced carp, koi no arai, is a local speciality.
Good to know
- Koi (鯉) sounds like the word for love (恋) — a favourite pun on wedding gifts.
- Nishikigoi, “brocade carp”, is the name for the ornamental varieties.
- Ojiya and Nagaoka in Niigata are where ornamental koi breeding began.
