Tanabata (七夕), also known as the "star festival", takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, when, according to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and Vega, which are usually separated from each other by the milky way, are able to meet.
Colorful Tanabata festivals are held across Japan in early July and August. Among the biggest and most famous ones are the Tanabata Festivals of Sendai in August and Hiratsuka near Tokyo in July. General Information.
^ "Lights to be turned off at 72,000 facilities on Tanabata night," Hokkaido Shimbun (Sapporo). 4 July 2008. Como, Michael. Weaving and Binding: Immigrants Gods and Female Immortals in Ancient Japan. University of Hawai'i Press, 2009.
Because the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar, Tanabata is still celebrated on August 7th in some regions of Japan, while it is celebrated on July 7th in other regions.
Because the 7th month of the year roughly coincides with August rather than July according to the formerly used lunar calendar , Tanabata is still celebrated on August 7 in some regions of Japan, while it is celebrated on July 7 in other regions. One popular Tanabata custom is to write one's wishes on a piece of paper, ...
Tanabata. Tanabata decoration in Sendai. Tanabata (七夕), also known as the "star festival", takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month of the year, when, according to a Chinese legend, the two stars Altair and Vega, which are usually separated from each other by the milky way, are able to meet. Tanabata tree at a railway station.
Colorful Tanabata festivals are held across Japan in early July and August. Among the biggest and most famous ones are the Tanabata Festivals of Sendai in August and Hiratsuka near Tokyo in July.
When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime would no longer weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet.
Like Qixi and Chilseok, Tanabata was inspired by the famous Chinese folklore story, " The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl " . Some versions were included in the Man'yōshū.
Tanabata ( Japanese: たなばた or 七夕, meaning "Evening of the seventh"), also known as the Star Festival ( 星祭り, Hoshi matsuri ), is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival.
It is believed that a Shinto purification ceremony existed around the same time, in which a Shinto miko wove a special cloth on a loom called a tanabata (棚機) and offered it to a god to pray for protection of rice crops from rain or storm and for good harvest later in autumn.
Large-scale Tanabata festivals are held in many places in Japan, mainly along shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers. The most famous Tanabata festival is held in Sendai from 6 to 8 August. In the Kantō area, two of the largest Tanabata festivals are held in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa (around 7 July) and in Asagaya, Tokyo immediately prior to the start of the Obon holiday in mid August. A Tanabata festival is also held in São Paulo, Brazil around the first weekend of July and Los Angeles, California in the beginning of August.
The bamboo and decorations are often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day. This resembles the custom of floating paper ships and candles on rivers during Obon. Many areas in Japan have their own Tanabata customs, which are mostly related to local Obon traditions.
Tanzaku hanging on bamboo. In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on tanzaku ( 短冊, tanzaku), small pieces of paper, and hanging them on bamboo, sometimes with other decorations (see also Wish Tree ).
Cosplay. Cosplaying is always fun! You shouldn't cosplay everyday, maybe just once a month. You can have contests, re-enact scenes, etc.
Have snacks, a lot of people will want them. You should get Japanese food, or anime-related food. Or you could just have regular snacks.
wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 18 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 49,586 times.