If you go into the Japanese countryside on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, usually on a day in August, you may be surprised to find curious rows of freshly-cut bamboo stuck into the ground in front of people's homes and adorned with colorful strips of paper. (The more traditional date for celebrating Tanabata is August 7, but most locales, especially the cities, now celebrate it on July 7). If you look closer you'll see that these papers are covered with poems that children have written in celebration of Tanabata, the Weaver Princess.
Tanabata, the Star Festival, is the fourth largest festival in Japan (the first three being Oshogatsu -
the New Year, Hinamatsuri - the Girls' Festival, and Tango no sekku - the Boys' Festival). Its origin is unclear, but it seems to have been introduced to Japan from China, where it had been observed for a long time, in the year 755.
Hiratsuka, the city in which Tanabata: The Star Festival was filmed, is noted for having one of the liveliest Tanabata festivals in Japan. Through the magic of video, enjoy!
*TANABATA FESTIVAL BROCHURE
*TANABATA AND BUSINESS
The following is from the English-language brochure on "The Tanabata Festival in Hiratsuka" (1992) produced by the members of Shonan ESS in cooperation with the City Government's Commerce and Industry Department:
Brochure cover:
"Message from The Mayor
"Welcome to the Tanabata Festival in Hiratsuka!
"I am delighted to welcome you, an international visitor, to our greatest annual summer event. While in Hiratsuka, please enjoy the various bamboo decorations, parades, attractions, and shopping at the festival stalls on the street. At night, I am sure, the array of colorful illuminations that brighten up the entire downtown streets will be a pleasant surprise.
"Also, don't forget to visit our International Visitors Salon (IVS'92) on Saturday, July 4th and/or on Sunday, July 5th. The IVS will have a special complimentary hospitality lounge for your rest, enjoyment, and hands-on Japanese culture workshop.
"We, the citizens in Hiratsuka, will all be glad to help you enjoy every minute of the Tanabata Festival to your heart's content. Have a happy sightseeing day!
Kyoichi Ishikawa
Mayor of Hiratsuka"
Brochure, page 2:
"Today Tanabata is a very popular summertime event in a number of cities in Japan. The festival in Hiratsuka was started in 1951 when a group of downtown merchants launched a plan to promote summer sales by displaying special bamboo decorations as a token of appreciation to their customers and shoppers. Over time the event has grown in scale and in popularity, and now the festival is established as one of the city's key annual events. Hiratsuka, in fact, could hardly get through the summer without Tanabata.
"The five-day event each year attracts more than three million visitors including a lot of tourists from abroad. Surprisingly, over 3,000 colorful bamboo decorations fill out all of the city's main shopping streets. At night, the decorations are illuminated, which makes the streets of the entire downtown all the more fascinating. The colorful, huge bamboo trees will dazzle the festival visitors into a "midsummer night's dream" of Japan.
"Yatai - Festival Stalls on the Street --
"Bamboo decorations are not all you expect to see while visiting the Tanabata festival in Hiratsuka. One other attraction you cannot miss is the hundreds of mini-shops selling an infinite selection of food, toys, games, and trinkets. The festival stalls, called Yatai and at night, Yomise, are run by those merchants traveling from one big local festival to another throughout Japan year around. They set up their kiosks all along the shopping streets, making Hiratsuka's entire downtown a mall of Yatai's. Not everything's really fixed prices, though. You might try out a discount deal, for fun, with the peddlers if you wish. Or, you may just want to stroll along and enjoy window shopping. "
*TANABATA MYTH
This version of the Tanabata myth is taken from the English-language brochure on "The Tanabata Festival in Hiratsuka" (1992) produced by the members of Shonan ESS in cooperation with the City Government's Commerce and Industry Department.
The brochure also states:
"Tanabata, known as the festival of the Weaver and Herdsman Stars, is based on an old Chinese legend. It is about two stars, Altair and Vega, that emerge sharply and sparkle in all their brilliance in the sky of summer nights. The two brightest stars can be seen facing each other, but on the opposite sides of the Milky Way. And, they appear to move closer to each other in the summer.
"This legend was brought to Japan and combined with a Japanese indigenous legend of Princess Oto-Tanabata, the weaver who set up a shelf (Tana) and a weaving machine (Hata) and who offered her woven products to a god. Thus, the star festival was generated out of these ancient legends of the two countries and named Tana-Hata, and later changed vocally to Tanabata as it is called today.
"The celebration began to be practiced in Japanese emperor's court around the 9 - 10th century. Samurai feudal lords took on this tradition, which was gradually spread among the general public throughout the country.
"The star Vega was regarded as the guardian of artistic talents. The ladies of Japanese emperor's court nobilities, in the 14th century, began to write poems and wishes on strips of colored paper and offer them to Vega by tying them onto bamboo branches (the bamboo was a sacred tree in those days in Japan). The bamboo decorations you see on the Tanabata Festival street today trace back to this long-lasting Japanese custom and tradition."
The film, Frankie Starlight, by Michael Lindsay-Hogg includes a star-gazing reference to the myth of Altair and Vega.
An alternate version of the Tanabata myth:
"Tanabata: A Japanese "Romeo and Juliet"?
"The daughter of Tentei, the Emperor of the Stars, lived on the eastern bank of the River of Heaven (the Milky Way). She spent her days and nights dutifully weaving clothes for the many gods who lived in her father's great mansion. She was always so absorbed in her work that she took the nickname Shokujo, or "Weaving Girl."
"When Shokujo became old enough to marry, her father chose Kengyu, the "Ox Puller," a young man who lived on the western bank of the river, to be her husband. For Shokujo and Kengyu it was love at first sight, and the two of them ended up taking a much longer honeymoon than had been planned for them. During their absence Kengyu's Ox grew thin, and the gods in Shokujo's father's house grew annoyed at their lack of new clothing.
"In a fit of anger at their irresponsible behavior, Tentei condemned the newlyweds to live separately, again on opposite sides of the river, and permitted them to meet only once per year -- on the seventh night of the seventh moon.
"The River of Heaven is very wide, and no permanent bridges can span it. Every year, therefore, when the night of the couple's meeting arrives, all the magpies in the world fly to the river in a great flock and form a living bridge that Shokujo can cross to meet her husband. If, on this day, a magpie is seen on earth, it may be pelted with stones by children for not joining in the effort to make this romantic meeting possible.
"Unfortunately for the lovers, magpies are unable to fly to the stars in bad weather. If it rains on the day of the meeting, the event is canceled and the lovers are made to wait another. Many children in Japan therefore begin the day of the Tanabata festival with the invocation, 'tenki ni nare! tenki ni nare!' 'may it be good weather!' "
*VEGA
Vega is one of the most brilliant stars in the heavens. In the northern hemisphere only Capella and Arcturus match its brightness. The primary star in the constellation called Lyra (the lyre), Vega reaches its highest point during the summer evenings of July and August, when its brilliant, bluish glow is easily recognizable.
*ALTAIR
Altair is the brilliant white or yellowish white star in the northern hemisphere constellation Aquila, the eagle. The name Altair means "the Flying Eagle." A harbinger of summer, it becomes increasingly noticeable in May. Altair follows Vega in the east and is one of the most attractive stars in the early evening summer sky.
*JULY 7TH
Tanabata is celebrated in Japan on the 7th day of the 7th month (a week of festivities) each year. The equivalent festival in China is also held on the 7th day of the 7th month, but because the Chinese New Year is in February it falls in the beginning of August. Since the Chinese year is only 360 days long, the exact date of the festival varies slightly each year when translated into the western (Gregorian) calendar. The Chinese celebration is somewhat like our Valentine's Day.
