Tanabata in Japan

The Tanabata Festival originated from the ancient Chinese legend known as Qixi. The story was so popular, it even reached the Kyoto Imperial Palace of Japan during the feudal period in the 8th century. Qixi is a romantic story about two lovers named Princess Orihime, a seamstress, and Hikoboshi, a cow herder. Tanabata, or the Star Festival, involves a Japanese tradition in which people write their wishes on small, colorful strips of paper (tanzaku) and hang them on the branches of a small decorative bamboo tree.

The history of Tanabata goes back over 2,000 years. There once was a weaver princess named Orihime, the daughter of the Sky King, and a cow herder prince named Hikoboshi. They lived peacefully and industriously beside the “heavenly river” of the Milky Way. After the two met each other and fell in love, they began neglecting their work: Orihime ceased weaving cloth, and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to wander all around the skies. This angered the king, so as punishment he separated the two lovers across the Milky Way.

Eventually, the king relented somewhat and allowed Orihime and Hikoboshi to see each other once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month. The legend stresses that Orihime and Hikoboshi cannot meet if the weather is rainy, so it’s customary to pray for good weather on this day.