Koi are actual animals that you may have seen in decorative ponds in fancy places. In the US and most of the world, "koi" is the term used for a specific species of Japanese carp, which are patterned or speckled and come in a variety of colors--mostly orange, white, and black. Early koi in Japan were kept in muddy ponds, which were common near rice patties. The fish were used as a food source in addition to rice and veggies. But the koi soon started to show mutations of different colors and, instead of eating those, they were kept as collectors items. Koi breeding really took off in the early 1900s, spreading to the rest of the world.
In fact, my favorite phone game, Zen Koi, is one where you breed koi until you collect them all, eventually ascending them to dragon-hood. You may also be familiar with Magikarp, the carp-like Pokemon that's pretty much useless until it evolves into Gyrados, the huge water dragon.
Koi are associated with joy, luck, beauty, both friendly and romantic love, strength, and courage. There's a lot to get into with them.
But the koi episode of the podcast is specifically in conversation with a legend from the late Han Dynasty. In it, a school of golden koi were swimming upstream in the Yellow River, trying to leap the waterfall at the end to reach the Dragon's Gate. Most of the koi were not brave or strong enough to make it up the waterfall, but it's said that after a hundred years of trying, one finally succeeded and was transformed into a dragon. Thus, koi are symbols of perseverance, determination, and destiny fulfilled.
These are, of course, virtues that people want and identify with, so koi images appear all over the place. Koi tattoos are super popular. Koinobori, windsocks that look like koi, are usually flown over houses in Japan in late April and early May in celebration of Children's Day on May 5th, which is part of Golden Week. Putting up a koinobori is a way to wish for the koi-like virtues of perseverance and determination onto your children.
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