Swimming up-wind - "koinobori" or carp streamers

(left) An artisan paints colorful "koinobori," or carp streamers, at Hashimoto Yakichi Shoten Co., a carp streamer manufacturer in the Saitama Prefecture city of Kazo, ahead of Children's Day on May 5. Carp streamers are all handmade at the manufacturer, from cutting and sewing to painting, and it takes about two months to make a 10-meter-long streamer. (Mainichi, Mar 27, 2010)

(right) Colorful carp streamers fly in the spring breeze over the Kase River in Saga on Saturday, March 27. Some 300 carp streamers hung along 11 80-meter-long wires over the river can be seen during the Kawakamikyo Spring Festival, which runs through May 9. (Mainichi, Mar 29, 2010)

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