Tanabata 七夕🎋 - Japanese Star Festival 🌟

Tanabata - A centuries-old tradition of stars and wishes

Tanabata is based on an ancient Chinese legend that came to Japan in the 8th century during the Nara period.

The story tells of Orihime, the weaver princess (Star Vega), and Hikoboshi, the cattle herder (Star Altair).
"Orihime and Hikoboshi fell so deeply in love that they forgot everything else—even their heavenly duties.
The sky god was disappointed: the heavenly garments were no longer woven, and the cattle remained unattended. As punishment, he separated the two—and allowed only one encounter a year: on July 7, when their stars Vega and Altair approach each other in the summer sky.
This is how the Japanese Tanabata festival was born – a day on which people write wishes and send them to the stars.

Urban prosperity at the Tanabata festival (left)

Urban Prosperity at the Tanabata Festival”, from the series “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo

 

Utagawa Hiroshige, one of Japan's most famous ukiyo-e artists, also created depictions of the Tanabata festival.
He is considered one of the most famous and influential woodblock artists of the Edo period, who masterfully captured atmospheric scenes and seasons in his works.

As a child, I loved writing tanzaku and decorating them on bamboo branches—little colourful pieces of paper with our wishes written on them. Everyone was allowed to make a wish, and the strips of paper were hung on bamboo branches.

For me, it felt similar to writing a letter to Santa Claus :) Only the wishes flew up into the sky, to the stars. Regardless of whether our wishes were granted or not, it was just so much fun.

As a child, I also learned that whether Orihime and Hikoboshi can meet across the Milky Way depends on the weather. If it rains, they won't be able to see each other that year. It often rains in Japan on July 7th because of Tsuyu season, and that sometimes made me sad.

But at some point I thought to myself: Whether we see them in the sky or not, the stars are behind the rain clouds. It never rains in space. This means the two can meet every year, without being deterred by the weather!

So I made a happy ending story out of it :)

How do you like my happy ending story?