コラム

◆ TANABATA (Star Festival) ◆

Tanabata is a Japanese tradition in which people write their wishes on small, colorful strips of papers and hang them on bamboo branches. The Japanese term for these papers is tanzaku. Alternatively, some people also decorate bamboo branches with various kinds of paper decorations and place them outside of their houses. Its roots are described in an old Chinese tale. According to the tale, once there was a weaver princess named Orihime and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi living in space. After they got together, they played all the time and began to neglect their work. This angered the king, who separated them on opposite sides of the Amanogawa River (Milky Way) as punishment.

The king relented somewhat and allowed Orihime and Hikoboshi to see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. The Japanese believe that Orihime and Hikoboshi can’t see each other if the weather is rainy, so it’s customary to pray for good weather on this day and to make wishes.

At the time of Tanabata (Star Festival) there are events in various cities like Christmas.

What kind of wish did you write?