WHEN EAST MEETS WEST: Tanabata Star Festival
Sunday, June 27, 2010

Image via Wikipedia
Commentary by Hank F. Miller Jr.
Tanabata Matsuri is the essence of summer and summer festivals. Held in Japan either July or August 7, other Asian countries such as China and Korea also hold Star festivals.
The original form of Tanabata derives from Qi Xi, the Chinese Star Festival. Introduced to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto during the Nara Era (eight century), it became a popular event among the general public in the early Edo period (17th century).Mixing the old tale of Tanabatatatsume as well as various Oban traditions together with the original Chinese festival, it eventually developed into the modern form the we see it here today, with people writing their wishes on "Tanzaku" as it is called paper strips and put on bamboo trees to decorate them.
The tale of Tanabata
According to the tale of Tanabata, once upon a time long ago, there was a princess named Orihime (Weaving Princess).She was the daughter of Tenkou (Sky King) and wove beautiful cloth along the banks of the Amanogawa (River of Heaven: The Milky Way).As her father loved her cloth; she worked hard every day weaving .But she was unhappy because her work prevented her from meeting anybody and falling in love. Tenkou, who felt sorry for his daughter, arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (Cow Herder Star), who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa River.
Upon meeting the two fell in love instantly and got married shortly after. But upon
marriage, Orhime stopped weaving cloth for Tenkou while Hikoboshi allowed the cows to stray all over the heavens.
Distressed by this misconduct of the two, Tenkou separated Orihime and Hikoboshi, placing the Amanogawa River between them. Brokenhearted by the separation, Orihime begged her father to let her meet Hikoboshi again. Tenkou, who saw his daughter's tears, eventually gave in and agreed to let the two meet on the condition that Orihime worked hard and finished her weaving. But the first time they tried to meet they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge.
A flock of magpies sympathized with Orihime, who cried her heart out because she could not meet Hikoboshi. The birds promised to build a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river the next time. But if it rained, the magpies would not be able to come and the two lovers would have to get permission from the owner of the farm where the magpies lived.
It happened to belong to a goddess named Tanabata. Soon Tanabata visited Mikeran a weaver, inquiring about her robe.Mikeran lied to Tanabata, saying that he had not found the robe, but would help search for it. Eventually, the two fell in love, got married and had many children.
But one day, Tanabata found a piece of cloth on the roof of Mikeran's hut. She recognized it was the cloth that once belonged to her robe. Discovering his lie, Tanabata agreed to forgive Mikeran if he wove 1,000 pairs of straw shoes. But she told him that she would leave him until the work was finished. Mikeran failed and thus could never meet Tanabata again. But the two were said to be able to meet once a year in heaven, when the stars Altair and Vega intersected.
Tanabata Customs and dates
Today, people in Japan celebrate Tanabata by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on small strips of paper and are hung on tall bamboo trees that bear other decorations. In some regions, these bamboo and decorations are set afloat on a river or burned after the festival ends at around midnight or on the next day. This is similar to the custom of floating paper ships with candles in on rivers during the Oban season in August, to pay respect to the Japanese ancestors who are believed to have returned home during Oban holiday. The original date of the Tanabata Festival was based on the Japanese lunisolar calender, which is roughly one month behind the Gregorian calendar. This is why some festivals are held July7, and others are held around August 7. In other areas, the event is still held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar, which usually falls in August on the Gregorian calendar.
Warm Regards from Kitakyushu, City, Japan
Hank F. Miller Jr.
P.S. We are presently into rainy season with downpours daily till about the middle or end of July. So it's an extremely hot, humid, wet and very an uncomfortable experience at the moment.