The Man who Flies with the Fishes

29 Apr 2008 Category: Craftwork, Japan, Tradition

The Man who Flies with the Fishes

May 5 is Children’s Day in Japan, a national holiday. In the weeks leading up to this day, large flags shaped like carp called koi nobori begin to appear, hanging from city apartment balconies, flying atop poles in farmhouse gardens, and strung in long lines across country rivers. This week, in honor of Children’s Day, we visited a hundred year-old koi nobori workshop in Kazo City, Saitama, and spoke to the third generation proprietor, Mr. Takashi Hashimoto.

Interviewed by Takafumi Suzuki, Hiroko Torigoe
Translated by Claire Tanaka

Mr. Hashimoto designed this 111 meter (yes! one hundred and eleven!) jumbo koi nobori

The artisans working together in the workshop make a lively atmosphere

So tell me, what kind of history does the koi nobori have?

It’s a mystery (laughs). Well, they do say that it originates from a Chinese legend. Only the carp that can swim up the Yellow River can become dragons, or so the story goes. So, in connection with that story, people began to fly the carp flags up in the sky with prayers that their children would grow up big and successful. Or so they say. A certain encyclopedia editor came to ask me to clear up the origin of koi nobori for him once. That just goes to show how unclear the history is. But the custom doesn’t exist in China, and around the middle of the Edo period (late 1600s – 1700s) koi nobori began to appear in pictures by woodblock print master Hiroshige and other artists, so there’s no doubt that the custom started in the mid-Edo period. But I’m just a craftsman. I don’t know much about history.

Now, changing the subject, Mr. Hashimoto, tell me how you learned how to draw koi by hand.

I grew up surrounded by koi nobori, so I suppose I learned it naturally. This area has the highest production level of koi nobori in all Japan. There were about forty shops at the peak of the industry, so for me growing up, a koi nobori shop was a very natural thing. It was just a regular kind of shop. I always loved drawing, so this work suits my personality. Also, once I’d been working with koi for a while, I grew to like them.

The blacks of the eyes are placed so that the fish looks natural when it is hoisted into the air

The white space and line thickness are all calculated so that the koi will look good and strong even from afar

Your koi nobori have such a dynamic design. Where do you get your inspiration?

Yes, well, I believe that even the design of traditional folk arts have to change along with the progress and evolution of society. That’s why I increased the number of designs we make. I take everything into account and use it as a reference for my creative work. I’ll go to see a musical, and think, if I use this color, it puts out a peaceful image, or something like that. I pay particular attention to color.

So, your huge variety of designs aren’t all passed down from the olden days?

They’re all my designs, and now we have seventeen different ones in total. In my father’s day, there were three designs, and in my grandfather’s time, only two. The customers sometimes call me “professor” but really, I think of the customers as my teachers. By that, I mean most of the designs were developed from the requests of people (little boy, big brother and dad, grandma and grandpa) who came into the shop. From listening to their vague words, inside my brain, born from those words, a color image will float up and I’ll just transpose that image onto the koi nobori (laughs).


Utagawa Hiroshige made this koi nobori print in the Edo Period

The carp swimming through the air really look as if they are alive

So, did you decide to make a large variety of designs to suit the large variety of different tastes that people have?

Yes, everyone is different. Even the most friendly couples will come in and each point at a different flag. When that happens, just so that there are no disagreements, I’ll suggest, “How about buying two? You’ll be happy, I’ll be happy, it’s win-win.” (laughs)

I see. This shop is really vibrant and lively inside and out, isn’t it?

Yes. But, from when I took over the shop after my father died suddenly when I was twenty-five until I was about thirty, this was in the late 1970s mind you, this shop was in real danger.

You can see how people have trouble deciding! Each design has different eyes, fins, and scales

You mean you were having financial trouble?

Yes. Koi nobori made of nylon had just gone on the market in those days, and no one bought the hand-painted ones anymore. Customers wanted the newest thing, and that was the nylon koi nobori. It was just a matter of time before we went out of business. At that time, the artisans at the shop all had a dark cloud hanging over them. In the end, of the forty koi nobori shops that were around here, ours was the only one that survived.

But, after that, the nylon koi nobori didn’t just go away, did they?

No. We ended up making silk-screen printed koi nobori. But that was like our last gasp. It was then that I said, “In a hundred years, if people look at a hand-painted koi nobori and think “No wonder they died out” then that would be a real shame. We should work so at least they could say “What a pity, they were so lovely.” Then I passed out three meters of fabric to each of the artisans and said, “Paint your best koi nobori on here, in any style you like.”

View of the shop interior

The process for making a hand-painted koi nobori

So the artisans were free to come up with their own designs?

Yes. And then, when they had all drawn them, I lined them all up. Then, looking at them all lined up like that, they were pretty good. And I said, “This one has good eyes, and this one has nice scales” and picked up the good parts of each one. And I presented my plan, “How about we put all the best bits together and make one?” And then everyone’s eyes started to sparkle, and the dark cloud that had been hanging around just blew away in an instant.

And you’re not telling me the shop had a complete recovery after that?

It did. One day, we got a phone call from Yokohama saying, “do you have any hand-painted koi nobori?” and I said “Oh, we have them.” And we made a sale. And then we had another call from somewhere else, “I want a hand-painted koi nobori.” And bit by bit, it spread by word of mouth. The pace around here really picked up. Now, we’re so busy we don’t have time to take a break. I’m so grateful that I don’t mind. After all, I love koi nobori. Now, what is really painful for me is when people want to buy something and we’ve run out of stock (laughs).

So, what is it about your work that makes you happy?

Most of all, when the customers are pleased and they send us a letter, that makes me happy. After all, getting a letter from someone after they’ve bought something from the shop is outside the world of financial profits-and-losses.

It must take a long time to perfect the skills required to make something that wonderful.

I feel that personally I still have room for improvement. I’d have to live three lives as a koi nobori artisan before I could say I’ve made it. Even if I am reborn, even if I could make good money, I would never want to work in something like IT. I’d want to be a koi nobori man again.

Hashimoto Yakichi Shouten
1-12-12, Dote, Kazo city, Saitama prefecture

Takashi Hashimoto
Hand-painted koi nobori artisan, third generation owner of Hashimoto Yakichi Shoten

61 Comments

  1. i dont read many articles all the way through.. i really appreciate the story. great interview.

    Posted by: ryan on April 30th, 2008 at 11:24 pm

  2. Wonderful interview. It would be a shame to lose this art.

    Posted by: Jim on May 1st, 2008 at 12:42 am

  3. Great ! i like it

    Posted by: website design on May 1st, 2008 at 12:46 am

  4. This interview is informative and inspiring, and it’s wonderful that these artists continue to to keep the tradition alive. The hand painted koi are so beautiful!

    Posted by: Rudy on May 1st, 2008 at 12:58 am

  5. I love Japan traditional cultures so much. Koi Nobori is one of my favorites. And I really admire people like Takashi Hashimoto who believe so strongly in themselves in the face of difficult times in their lives. Maybe this is why Japan has so many legends in her interesting history.

    Posted by: Hanz on May 1st, 2008 at 1:01 am

  6. The Japanese culture has the most intriguing art globally, we here in america can’t dream of kites like that.

    Posted by: Art Quiz on May 1st, 2008 at 1:58 pm

  7. I haven’t read the article yet, but I live in Japan and these flags are everywhere. Some of them have really interesting designs and I’ve even seen one that had some Dragonball Z characters on it! Children’s day is just part of a string of holidays that make up Golden Week. It’s Japan’s version of Spring Break and everyone flocks to Okinawa (where I live) to go to the beach and enjoy the warm weather. Traffic really sucks this time of year.

    Now off to read the article :P

    Posted by: arcticblue on May 2nd, 2008 at 8:57 am

  8. I am always so happy to hear of traditional arts surviving in the world of cheap and factory-made. Mr. Hashimoto’s koi are beautiful.

    Posted by: moonbridgebooks on May 3rd, 2008 at 2:39 am

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