Carpionada Festival • Ticotin Museum in Haifa

An exhibition of 120 carp kites and activities for the whole family

On May 3.5.24, 120, the Carpionada Festival will open at the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art in Haifa and will continue until the end of May. On the occasion of the Japanese "Children's Day", the Tikotin Museum presents on the museum's patio about 5 carp kites designed by students of the Haifa University's Neri Bloomfield School of Design and the Wizo International Foundation. "Children's Day" (originally "Boys' Day") is celebrated On May XNUMX, during which it is customary to wave 'koinobori' - wind sleeves in the shape of a carp fish (koi - fish; nobori - banner or flag) on ​​the roofs of houses and over rivers. 

According to Etti Glas Gisis, curator of the Tikotin Museum:

During Children's Day in Japan, it is customary to display figures of samurai and weapons indoors and koinobori outside, and that is what we did here at the museum. On the patio of the museum, over a hundred fish sleeves are now displayed, designed by students from the graphic design department at the Haifa University School of Design. The students were only given the fish pattern and were asked to illustrate it according to the theme "Israel-Japan". A digital book of the models, their creators and the hidden story Behind each of them, is shown on a background.

The workshops offered:

As part of the festival, there will be various workshops and activities for the whole family on Saturdays in May, including: decorating a koi kite, making a Japanese print, making an origami samurai hat and more. More information about the workshops and purchasing tickets - on the Haifa Museums website.

The carp fish

In Chinese and Japanese cultures, the carp symbolizes courage and strength thanks to its ability to live longer and jump against the current of waterfalls. This is the origin of the custom, where every family wishes their children health and strength, like the carp fish in the wild. Banners were part of the accessories used by samurai on the battlefield. The samurai used to wear ceremonial armor, equip themselves with swords and arrows and wave banners. The banners appeared in a variety of colors and shapes and some were decorated with images of the carp fish.

In the Edo period (1603-1868) they became "carp flags", and since the characteristics of the fish, courage and strength, are the desired qualities for boys, families made it a custom and hung the banners on the roof of the house in honor of the members of the house.

According to Dr. Ona Segev, head of the graphic design department at the Haifa University School of Design:

I am happy and welcome this cooperation. This is the first cooperation of our department with the Haifa museums, heralding the strengthening of the relationship between us and the leading cultural institutions in the city. This is a unique opportunity to celebrate a rich visual world that bridges different cultures in image, form and color.