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Celebrate National Koi Day on July 7th with a beautiful Koi fish papercraft! This does have a few extra steps, but the end result is totally worth it!

Imagine living a life where you don’t really do anything remarkable – other than living a really, really long life. And just because of that, you get a special day dedicated to you!!

Well, that’s the story of Hanako, the koi fish with the world record of living the longest – 226 years!! Most koi fish do live a long time – here are some more fun facts about this colorful carp!

Fun Facts about Koi Fish

• The Japanese name for koi fish is Nishikigoi, which means ‘Swimming Jewel’
• Although koi fish most probably originated in China, they became popular after an exhibition in Tokyo in 1914
• Koi fish can digest only 60% of what they eat, due to which they eat and poop quite frequently
• These fish are intelligent; they can recognize their owner and can be taught tricks
• The most expensive Koi fish ever sold was in Japan in 2017, which was sold for $1.8 million

Coming back to Hanako, the oldest koi fish that ever lived, she died on July 7th, 1977. In her honor, it was decided to observe every 7th July as National Koi Day! We’re joining in the celebrations too, with a gorgeous Koi fish papercraft for kids!

Beautiful Koi Fish Papercraft for Kids

Supplies required:

• Colored craft papers
• Scissors
• Craft glue
• Sharpies
• Pencil

How to make the Koi Fish Papercraft for Kids:

1. Download and print the Koi Fish Papercraft Template. The template includes parts of the koi fish, like body, tail, fins and eyes.

2. Trace the parts on the template on craft paper in colors of your choice and cut them out. Choose craft paper with a medium thickness for this project. The most common colors for koi fish are yellow, orange, red, white and black.

3. Let’s start assembling our Koi fish papercraft. Take the two fin cutouts and fold them into accordion folds, as shown below.

4. Unfold all the folds from the previous step so you are left with creases like these. Fold the straight edges in a little.

5. Keep the fins aside and take the body cutout of the koi fish. Cut a 1 cm slit perpendicular to the curved edge, which is the front of the fish.

6. Apply glue on one side of the slit.

7. Bring the other side of the slit over to overlap on the glued side, so you get a shape like the one below.

8. Stick the eye cutouts on either side of the overlapped slit.

9. Take a Sharpie that matches the color of your koi fish and use it to draw scales. Fun fact: Hanako’s age was determined by analysing her scales!

10. Bring back the fins from Step 4. Apply glue to the folded edge of the fins. 

11. Attach both fins to either side of the fish’s body, sticking the glued edges underneath.

12. Time to give our Koi fish papercraft a tail! Take the tail fin cutout and fold it in half vertically.

13. Fold it vertically in half again.

14. Fold it vertically two more times. You have a thick, narrow strip of paper by now.

15. Unfold all the folds made in the previous steps to expose multiple vertical creases. 

16. Use these creases as a guide to make accordion pleated folds, so you end up with a shape like this:

17. Apply glue on one long side of the pleated tail fin pattern.

18. Fold the pleated tail fin in half so that the glued sides come together. Use your fingers to gently spread out the folds on the tail fin.

19. Bring back your koi fish and apply glue on the straight edge, i.e., the back of the fish. 

20. Attach the closed end of the tail fin to the glued part of the fish. 

There you go, your beautiful Koi fish papercraft is ready!

You can try making this Koi fish papercraft in multiple colours. If you’re using black, choose a silver or gold pen to draw the scales so they stand out.

In Japanese culture, koi fish are symbols of courage and determination. There is also a legend of koi fish swimming against the river’s current and turning into dragons. Due to this, koi fish are often associated with the samurai, who value bravery and resilience. If you know someone who is on a difficult path or trying to achieve a major goal, gift them this koi fish to let them know that they can do it!