What’s your biggest wish for this year? Is it a bright future working in Japan? Well, Japan has the perfect festival to help make that wish come true: the Tanabata Festival! Not only does this festival superpower your wishes, but experiencing the luminous celebrations around the country can also be a dream come true in itself!
What is the Tanabata Festival in Japan?
たなばた or 七夕, directly translated to English is: “Evening of the Seventh”, also known as Star Festival (星祭り, is a festival dedicated to wishing upon stars. The festival celebrates the meeting of star-crossed celestial lovers Orihime (the Vega star) and Hikoboshi (the Altair star) which happens only once a year[1]. At around the same time, Japan has celebrated the festival in different ways annually since it was introduced in 755.[2]
When does the Tanabata Festival of Japan happen yearly?
Festivities happen on different dates across the country, from the 7th day of the 7th month in the Gregorian calendar (July), to the 7th month in the Lunisolar Chinese calendar (August). Most of the old, traditional large-scale festivals, celebrations happen in August according to the old Lunisolar Chinese calendar, as they began centuries before the Gregorian Calendar’s introduction in 1873.[3]
What is the story of Tanabata?
Two celestial gods, the weaver princess Orihime (Vega) and the cow-herding Hikoboshi (Altair) have an intense whirlwind romance. It’s so all-consuming that they completely neglect their work, causing Hikoboshi’s cows to cause chaos in heaven. Orihime’s father fixes the situation by tearing the lovers apart, only letting them see each other once a year. [4]
What do Japanese people do during Tanabata?
In the past, aristocrats would have sake-sipping parties where they wrote poetry on strips of paper that would be floating down streams. Eventually, the practice evolved to displaying the poems or wishes tied on sacred lengths of bamboo. Though initially a plea to be a better writer or weaver, in modern times, poems have turned into people’s wishes for luck or money.
Today, having surpassed its aristocratic roots, and now celebrated by the masses, the wish-tying practice now happens amidst exuberant, colorful, live performances, parades, food and tons of seasonal decorations! [5]
The most crucial activity during Tanabata is writing your wish!
People write their wishes on colorful strips of paper tied to a bamboo branch at home, in the office, or at the JR stations that have set it up for the public. After it’s been displayed, the wishes are ceremonially tossed into the river or the ocean.
ASIA to JAPAN had a small Tanabata party where wishes were hung on potted bamboo branches.
How Tanabata is Celebrated
- Writing wishes on strips of paper displayed on bamboo branches
- Parading with music, dancing, and festival food
- Decorating with paper streamers and lanterns
- Dressing up in summer kimonos (yukata) around town
- Visiting your local shrine or temple for Tanabata activities
- Children decorating their classrooms
- Attending or participating in large-scale Tanabata festivals spread from July to August
The 5 Best Places to Celebrate Tanabata
ASIA to JAPAN held a Tanabata party last Friday where we hung our wishes on a potted bamboo tree. We also played games and made potstickers together!
There are plenty of effortless ways to celebrate Tanabata at home, at your office, or making use of the Tanabata set-ups at JR stations around Tokyo. Or, you can have an unforgettable time of your life through these Tanabata celebrations.
Sendai Tanabata Festival (仙台七夕祭り) – August 6-8 [6]
Every August 6-8, Sendai hosts the largest Tanabata celebration with the whole city participating. The night before, fireworks herald Tanabata, and right the next day, streets are brought to life in a colorful flurry of vibrant huge streamers, and locals dressed in their bright summer kimonos (yukata).
Tanabata Edoro Festival (七夕絵灯ろう祭り) at Yuzawa, Akita – August 5-7 [7]
Every August 5-7, in the last 300 years, Yuzawa-shi has illuminated its streets at night with its Tanabata celebration. Portraits of beautiful Japanese women are painted on large lanterns displayed all over Yuzawa. Artisans spend more than a month producing these hand-painted, luminous outdoor artworks. You can also admire the permanent exhibition of these beautiful lanterns at Ogatsu County Assembly Hall Memorial Hall all year round.
“Tenkuu-no-Fuyajou” (Lantern Castle in the Sky) at Noshira, Akita – August 2-3 [8]
There’s something so mesmerizing about lanterns against a dark black sky! Imagine that taken several levels highers and you get the Tanabata Festival in Akita. Gigantic, breath-taking castle-shaped luminous lanterns up to 24.1 meters high parade around the Noshiro City Hall!
During the Tenpō era (1830-44) floats reached 17-18 meters high! The advent of electric poles limited floats to just 7-8 meters high. Thankfully, since 2012, wires were shifted underground, enabling the floats to soar once again.
Ugoku and Kenka Tanabata (Moving and Fighting Festival) at Rikuzentakata City, Iwate – August 7 [9]
This 900-year-old traditional festival has two separate celebrations happening on the same day: the moving parading, and the fighting spectacle. In this prefecture, the celebration adopted a new meaning after the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011. The celebration reminisces both the tragedy, flattened buildings, and the many lives lost, but also the community’s triumphant recovery and hopes for the future.
In the Ugoku (Moving) Tanabata, traditionally decorated floats from twelve neighborhoods are paraded around the city, competing on appearance and style. At night, the lanterns are lit up beautifully.
Later that night, the Kenka (Fighting) Tanabata also happens, where once floats are literally pitted against each other. Floats smash against each other, as competing men nestled on top swipe against each other with long bamboo poles, all to the rhythm of powerful Taiko drumming.
Matsumoto Tanabata at Matsumoto-shi, Nagano Prefecture – August 7 [10]
Unlike most cities that focus on streamers and lanterns, the Matsumoto festival uniquely adds Tanbata paper dolls! The dolls come in many styles and represent the celebrated prince and princess. You can see the evolving dolls at the yearly exhibition at Scale Museum in Nakamachi or buy your dolls along Takasago Street.
How Japanese Festivals Inspire Foreign Talent to Seek Life and Work in Japan
It provided me with a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, festivals, and cuisine, and sparked my enthusiasm for exploring more about Japan. – Key to Career Success in Japan: Learn Japanese!
Although the path to getting a job in Japan entails a lot of hard work, the more you study the culture, the more reasons you’ll want to work and live in Japan! Just one of the many reasons our aspirants discover? The magical Japanese festivals! Japanese festivals such as Tanabata best embody how and why Japan has preserved its culture so well. At the festivals, you see how working together helps them pull off memorable other-worldly community events. If you want a snapshot of Japan’s wonderous, beautiful people and culture, then you certainly can’t miss their festivals.
I also look forward to experiencing Japanese culture fully and partaking in festivals, traditions, food, and daily life. I’m excited to build a life that blends my Indian roots with Japanese values. – Japanese Work Culture Inspired My Career In Japan
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