Tanabata: Festival of Wishes and Legend of Star-Crossed Lovers

Story

Once upon a time, there was a cow herder named Hikoboshi and a weaving girl named Orihime. Orihime was the treasured daughter of Tentei, the Heavenly Father. She'd sit on the banks of the Heavenly River, Amanogawa, as the Goddess of Weaving, and weave fabric. Orihime got despondent at the prospect of never finding genuine love despite working hard every day. Tentei, who adored his daughter, agreed to let Hikoboshi and Orihime meet. They married after falling in love at first sight.

Yet the happy pair became so absorbed in each other that they neglected their responsibilities - Orihime quit weaving fabric and Hikoboshi's cows ran wild. Tentei was outraged and determined to keep them apart forever, isolating them from the Amanogawa. Orihime was distraught, but her tears persuaded her father, who agreed to let them meet once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month.

The 7th day of the 7th month came and went, but the Amanogawa proved too difficult to cross without a bridge. Hikoboshi and Orihime screamed out for each other when they couldn't meet. A flock of kasasagi (magpies) were moved by their romance and built a bridge across the Amanogawa, reuniting the lovers.

Every year on the same day, kasasagi build a bridge to bring lovers together. If it rains on that day, however, the magpies will not emerge, thus many people pray for clear weather on Tanabata so that the lovers can be together.

What are the paper wishes written for Japan's Tanabata Festival?

When Tanabata first arrived in Japan from China during the Heian era (794 - 1185), royal court elites would write poetry while looking into the stars to commemorate the lovers. The myth of Tanabata and its celebration were not widely recognised in Japan until the Edo era (1603-1868). Around this time, the custom of writing wishes on tanzaku, brightly coloured pieces of paper, and hanging them from bamboo trees, became an element of the celebration.

They began hanging the strips of paper with their wishes from a tall and straight bamboo. They imagined that by doing so, their dreams would be sent to the skies. Now that you've heard the melancholy story of Tanabata, make your wish and hang it on a bamboo branch.

Tanabata and Modern Culture

Night on the Galaxy Railroad, the most famous work of beloved Japanese novelist Miyazawa Kenji, is lit by Tanabata's starry sky. Two tiny boys board a train that takes them across the summer Milky Way on the night of an imaginary celebration with all the spirit of Tanabata and Obon. Miyazawa portrays galaxies in an extremely vivid and dreamy manner:

The train really was going much faster, and many of the passengers were holding on tightly to their seats to avoid being thrust forward as they descended the slope. Giovanni and Campanella couldn’t help giggling. Suddenly the river of the Milky Way was flowing beside them once again, appearing even more dazzling than before. Pink flowers were in bloom along the riverbed...

Miyazawa's imagination soars as his train voyage into the heavens'spans a universe of ideas and ideologies, merging science and religion,' including what it means to be happy (Kris Kosaka, Japan Times). His work influenced Ghibli Studio's Miyazaki Hayao, who used it in the strangely creative Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

Longing and longing

tonight, at last, we meet:

may the mist rise thick

on the River of Heaven

and keep the day from dawning.

- Heian Poem “Anonymous Author”