Tattoo Koi Carp – Gain Some Good Fortune!

In the Japanese culture, the Koi or Carp are symbols of good fortune, success, and perseverance. On a tattoo, Koi Carp is meant to bring the bearer these very same virtues. While they at first just seem like giant goldfish, the koi and carp are so much more.

The koi and carp make for great tattoos because of their beauty and grace when seen swimming in a calm pool of water. When thinking of tattoos, koi carp seem a good choice because of that beauty and grace, and the koi or carp symbolism of success, perseverance and good fortune.

One of the reasons the carp symbolizes perseverance, is that carp are often seen swimming upstream. In Chinese mythology, a carp that succeeds with this endeavor will be transformed into a dragon. It is the hope of the tattoo with the image depicting the koi or carp swimming upward, that anyone bearing this tattoo will be guided along with perseverance in their own endeavors and metaphorically be turned from a koi carp into a dragon.

Carp are often seen on kites in Japan as well, working still with the symbolism. On these kites, black carp are meant for the male head of the family, and red carp are meant for the eldest son. This red carp is slightly smaller than the father's, and all younger sons receive an even smaller carp on their kites. A family of father and sons could certainly opt for koi or carp tattoos in the same manner.

Getting a tattoo depicting a koi or carp can bring in every bit of symbolism from the Japanese culture as well as for those who choose to embrace this belief. They can be an important rite of passage for the men of the family, and these tattoos can also bring success and good fortune, and be symbolic of the wearer persevering through difficult moments in life.

 

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