Tanabata, the Star Festival
Sunday, July 11, 2010
1-3pm
One of the five Go-Sekku seasonal festivals of Japan, Tanabata is traditionally celebrated on the seventh day of
the seventh month. The Portland Japanese Garden celebrates Tanabata each year on
the Sunday closest to this date.
Also known as the Star Festival, Tanabata has its roots in a Chinese legend
about the love between a young princess, Orihime, who was a weaver, and a
handsome young cowherd named Kengyu (represented by the stars Vega and Altair).
As a result of their great love for each other, the weaver neglected her work
weaving cloth for the gods and the herdsman neglected his cattle. In punishment,
Orihime's father, the emperor of the heavens, moved the star-lovers to opposite
sides of the Milky Way and stated that they would only be allowed to meet once a
year: on the seventh day of the seventh month. On this night a flock of heavenly
magpies use their wings to form a bridge that the weaver can cross to join her
lover. The magpies will only make the bridge if July 7 is a clear night; if it
rains, the lovers must wait another year.
One popular Tanabata custom is to write wishes and poems on colorful strips
of paper called tanzaku and hang them on fresh-cut bamboo branches in the hope
that the wishes come true. Some say the bending Tanabata bamboo poles symbolize
the bridge that the lovers will cross for their brief reunion.
Emerging from the Nagasaki train station on a sunny morning in early July, I was surprised and delighted to see a row of limber bamboo branches arranged in front of the station, each one festooned with colorful strips of paper and paper ornaments which fluttered in the breeze. What was this about? A shopkeeper answered, "Tanabata!" I soon learned about the old legend that inspired this charming display...
click to learn more
Also known as the Star Festival, Tanabata has its roots in a Chinese legend about the love between a young princess, Orihime, who was a weaver, and a handsome young cowherd named Kengy? (represented by the stars Vega and Altair). As a result of their great love for each other, the weaver neglected her work weaving cloth for the gods and the herdsman neglected his cattle. In punishment, Orihime's father, the emperor of the heavens, moved the star-lovers to opposite sides of the Milky Way and stated that they would only be allowed to meet once a year: on the seventh day of the seventh month. On this night a flock of heavenly magpies use their wings to form a bridge that the weaver can cross to join her lover. The magpies will only make the bridge if July 7 is a clear night; if it rains, the lovers must wait another year.
One popular Tanabata custom is to write wishes and poems on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them on fresh-cut bamboo branches in the hope that the wishes come true. Some say the bending Tanabata bamboo poles symbolize the bridge that the lovers will cross for their brief reunion...
click to learn more
