What's so special about Koi fish?

Koi (pronounced as coy) fish have become increasingly popular, as both real-life and tattoos. You see Koi fish ponds almost everywhere, and Koi tattoos on so many people. Not long ago, even I was drawn to the idea of getting a Koi tattooed on me. However, other than "It...it looks good" I had no other answer as to why I wanted to do it. So, I decided to do some research about the fish and its significance. After reading all the information that I did, it felt so overwhelming that I decided to delay the process of drawing that tattoo till I was, for lack of a better word, "worthy" of it. Here's most of what I read and understood about it. Also, you may have noticed by now, that this blog has deviated a bit from food and beverages.

'Koi' essentially meaning 'Carp' is derived from the word 'Nishigikoi', which are colored carp. Even with such a simple name, the Koi have become sort of living jewels, with their vibrant colors and bedazzling beauty. Along with that, this fish is highly respected and very symbolic in Japanese and Buddhist culture.

There are so many tales in Japanese mythology about the Koi fish. The most common one is, where the Koi turns into a golden dragon. It goes something like this.

Long long ago, there was a school of Koi fish living in the Yellow River, near a waterfall. They were curious about the view from the top of the waterfall. One fine day they decided to swim up there and see for themselves, so they began swimming upstream. The current of that waterfall was very strong, and it got stronger as they swam up. Many of the Koi got tired and gave up. However, some of them kept going on. One by one almost all the fish got tired of the strong current and seemingly never-ending waterfall. All of them, except one lost hope and went back swimming downstream. The one that kept on swimming, did it with the absolute last shred of strength he had and finally reached the top. Impressed by his determination and resilience, the Gods offered to turn that little Koi fish into a glorious, majestic Golden Dragon!

Along with this enthralling tale, the different colors of the Koi also symbolize different qualities that a human has or should have. These colors also signify different family members. The colors that represent the family are, orange (fiery red), black, blue, and pink. Orange fish represents the mother, black, the father, blue- the son, and pink- the daughter.

The red Koi can also mean power, bravery, and passion and the black could mean resilience, determination despite adversity, and reaching the goal even if you have to be born again for it. Whereas the blue Koi, since blue traditionally being the 'masculine' color represents reproduction. The yellow or the golden Koi can signify success and prosperity. White Koi, with red spots also known as the "lipstick" Koi, represents love and long-lasting relationships. The 'Asagikoi' or the multicolored Koi (mostly silver, blue, and red belly) can stand for the uncertainty in life and the fact that change is constant. The Yin Yang Koi which is generally depicted in tattoos or paintings, represents the balance of the negative and positive forces in life, which bring harmony. It is also often seen as the male and the female Koi, and it represents a peaceful, happy, and long-lasting marriage. There is a superstition that yin and yang cannot be separated in any art form, or the person's life will fall out of order.

The position of the Koi in artwork, be it a drawing, painting, or tattoo, also stands for something. Upstream Koi stands for significant achievement despite adverse conditions, such as coming out of depression, getting out of an abusive relationship, coming out of the closet, beating cancer, etc. While downstream Koi signifies that the person is still going through some struggle, like fighting an illness, leaving an addiction behind, enduring abusive relationships or bullying, etc.

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After much deliberation and indecisiveness, I now have a Koi tattoo, an upstream one in black, not because I like it or have those qualities, but because I aspire to be as resilient and determined, and am working towards it.

Rest assured, the meaning of any koi in any color is always positive, it all depends on our perspective.

However, as the tagline of my blog suggests, take it all with a grain of salt!