The Carp that Became a Dragon

Values

perseverancetransformationambitioncourage

In Japan, every 5th of May, families celebrate Kodomo no Hi (Children’s Day) by hanging vibrant cloth carps — the koinobori — that rise and swirl in the wind. These carps carry a powerful message: the ancient tale of a carp brave enough to swim upstream and transform into a dragon. A reminder that courage shapes destiny.

Workshops related to this story

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THE CARP AND THE DRAGON
In China, in the Yellow River region, there was a waterfall called the Dragon Gate, because an ancient legend said that anyone who could cro…
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Artist

ALICE RICARD

Alice Ricard is a French illustrator and artist, a graduate of Penninghen in Paris. Passionate about Japanese culture, she brings visual narratives to life where poetry and modernity intertwine. Moving between tradition and contemporary expression, she draws inspiration from nature, folklore, and travel. Her work creates dreamlike and melancholic atmospheres, inhabited by fantastical animals and imaginary landscapes, touched with a hint of surrealism.

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