Tanabata (七夕), the "Star Festival," takes place in summer, usually on July 7. People write wishes on strips of coloured paper and tie them to bamboo branches. Behind the decorations lies one of East Asia's best-loved love stories. Two stars live on opposite sides of the sky and may meet only once a year.
The story of the two stars
The festival comes from a Chinese legend that reached Japan over a thousand years ago. Orihime, a weaver princess, is the star Vega. Hikoboshi, a cowherd, is the star Altair. They fell so deeply in love that they forgot their work. In anger, the god of the sky put them on opposite banks of the Milky Way (天の川, amanogawa, "the river of heaven"). He let them cross and meet only on the seventh night of the seventh month, and only if the sky is clear. If it rains on Tanabata, people say the river has risen and keeps the lovers apart for another year.
Wishes on bamboo
The signature custom is to write wishes on tanzaku (短冊), small strips of coloured paper. People hang them with paper decorations on stalks of bamboo (笹, sasa). Afterwards, they float the bamboo down a river or burn it to send the wishes off. People also fold paper streamers, cranes and nets and string them up, and each shape has its own meaning. Whole cities hold huge Tanabata festivals, hung with thousands of paper streamers. The most famous one takes place in Sendai in August, and cascades of colour bury its shopping streets. Schools and homes put up their own small bamboo, heavy with the handwritten hopes of children.
Words & idioms to take away
Idioms & proverbs to carry away
-
短冊 (tanzaku): the narrow strip of coloured paper where you write a wish and tie it to bamboo. People also use it to write short poems.
-
天の川 (amanogawa): "the river of heaven," the Japanese name for the Milky Way. It is the river in the sky that keeps the two lovers apart.