Children’s Day

Japan's Children's Day on May 5 celebrates children's happiness and healthy growth. It grew from Tango no Sekku, traditionally associated with boys, while today's public holiday is for all children. Carp streamers, called koinobori, bring movement and repeating patterns to these coloring pages.

Choose a difficulty

Coloring Pages

Featured Popular New

1–12 of 20 coloring pages

Three koinobori above four people on a bridge over a flower-lined stream.

Carp Streamers over the Bridge

detailed

A smiling boy looks up at three koinobori among garden flowers and stepping stones.

Carp Streamers in the Garden

medium

Carp Streamers

easy

A shopkeeper shows a girl a tray of leaf-wrapped kashiwa mochi beneath koinobori decorations.

Kashiwa Mochi at the Sweet Shop

detailed

A boy on a cushion looks up at a mobile with three paper koinobori in his room.

A Koinobori Mobile in the Bedroom

medium

A craftsperson paints a large koinobori while a boy watches with a brush.

Inside the Koinobori Workshop

detailed

Grandma takes a photo of four smiling family members beneath three koinobori.

A Family Photo beneath the Koinobori

medium

A family shares leaf-wrapped sweets on a veranda beside a garden with three koinobori.

Children’s Day on the Veranda

detailed

Dad folds a paper kabuto while his daughter watches wearing one.

Paper Kabuto with Dad

detailed

A girl in floral clothing holds a pinwheel beneath a large koinobori.

A Pinwheel beneath the Carp Windsock

detailed

A grandmother and boy sit beside a decorated kabuto helmet on a stand.

Grandma and the Kabuto Display

detailed

A girl with a flowerpot and her grandfather look at koinobori from a balcony.

Balcony Carp Windsocks with Grandpa

detailed

Two carp streamers or a paper-folding scene

Choose repeating fish shapes, or a family activity with people and paper objects.

Two large koinobori

Large faces, fins and tails surround rows of scales. Start with the outer parts and leave the scale pattern for another session.

Carp Streamers →

Paper kabuto with Dad

A parent and child sit among folded paper helmets. Choose it for hands, triangular folds and tabletop details.

Paper Kabuto with Dad →

Give each carp its own color

Print the original line drawing linked below. The numbered areas match the color key and steps; use the colored example as a starting point, then choose your own colors if you prefer.

Try it on paper

Original coloring page: Carp Streamers →

Upper carp with blue face, fins and tail and lower carp in red; scales, pole and clouds white. — A digital color suggestion, not a photograph of a printed result. Open the original line drawing to print and try your own colors.

1. Blue upper carp
2. Red lower carp
3. White scales

Color the upper carp’s face, two fins and tail blue; keep its eye and open mouth white.
Color the lower carp’s face, two fins and tail red, preserving its eye and mouth.
Leave all scales on both bodies, the pole and clouds white.

The two carp are easy to tell apart, and the white scale rows remain visible for a later pattern.

More selection and activity ideas

Choose a page

For a short activity, try the pair of large carp streamers or the family beneath one big koinobori. For more detail, choose the riverside scene, the sweet shop or the kabuto display; their scales, leaves and small decorations take more time.

Try it together

Print a favorite scene and give each carp its own color pattern. Compare the outdoor streamers with the paper carp and folded kabuto in the indoor scenes, then talk about these Japanese May 5 traditions.

Keep exploring

Holidays

Browse styles →