Happy Children’s Day! Saori, one of our design team members, has initiated the celebration of Children’s day at Six Walls Interior Design. It’s a wonderful holiday celebrating children’s happiness and personalities. On that note, before diving into the magic of Children’s day, we would like to invite you to support a very special Make-A-Wish campaign! Six Walls is a long time supporter of Make-A-Wish, and right now you can get double the impact from a donation. Click here to find out more!
Saori, member of our Kitchen and Bath team
The month of May is a special month that reminds me of Japan, the origin of my culture and the basis of what I do as an interior designer. Children’s day started as a celebration for boys, but in 1948 the government changed it to include both boys and girls. It is also a day when we appreciate mothers, and their significant role in the children’s growth.
Koinobori bring fortune to the children
The typical decoration for Children’s day is the Koinobori, which are cloth streamers in the shape of Koi fish (also known as carp). They fly from poles all around Japan from April to early May, bringing good fortune to the children. Koinobori symbolizes the courage and strength of Koi fish that challenge themselves to swim upstream. According to a Chinese myth, a carp can eventually become a dragon that flies to the sky if it can make it against powerful currents and waterfalls.
The number and color of Koinobori represent the members of the family. Typically, a black one represents the father, while a red or pink one is the mother. The oldest son gets a blue one, and other colors are added for each sibling. Lastly, there is a special Koinobori that features 5 colorful streamers to attract divine protection from misfortune.
My father always took charge of setting up the Koinobori outside our house, in addition to decorating the interior with a Samurai helmet and seasonal ornaments. A Samurai helmet or doll is believed to help keep the children protected from accidents and diseases.
Family celebrations
As a child, I remember May 5th as one of the most exciting days of the year. Our family tradition is to eat my mother’s handmade Chirashi Sushi. It’s a bowl with a variety of ingredients including fish, egg, seaweed, and Japanese basil over vinegar-flavored rice. For dessert, we have Kashiwa mochi, a Japanese rice cake filled with sweet red bean paste wrapped in a Kashiwa (oak) leaf. My younger brother and I loved eating it! The Kashiwa leaves are special, because they do not fall off during winter. They stay on the branch until the new leaves sprout, representing the prosperity of the descendants.
Children’s Day is an important day for all of us to remember that each child is unique and precious. It’s such a perfect day to deepen family bonds by caring for each other’s happiness, health, and safety.
Inspiration from Children’s day
Children’s Day inspires me to be more considerate of the true value of things around us that shape our lives in meaningful ways. I believe that every design choice has a direct impact on the quality of our life, and that my background gives me a broad and sometimes different perspective of design solutions. I want my designs to deliver thoughtful and respectful outcomes to our company and clients.
My interest in art and design was sparked when I was a child. I loved to draw, and I still do. I find it very rewarding, at the same time relaxing and invigorating. These are a couple of my drawings:
Happy Children’s Day from all of us at Six Walls!
Image sources and credits: