Tanabata in Tokyo

Tanabata in Tokyo

July 7th is the day called Tanabata in Japan. Although there are variations to the story, this is how I remember the story of Tanabata ~ the story of the two star-crossed lovers.

Once upon a time, Tenkou was the god of the sky. He had a daughter, Orihime, who was a weaver of cloth. Every day, Orihime wove beautiful cloth for her father and the other gods, but she worked so much that her father worried about her.

One day, Tenkou introduced Orihime to a young cow herder from across the Amanogawa, which was the river of stars we know as the Milky Way. This young cow herder’s name was Hikoboshi, and he, like Orihime, was exceptional in his work. Both were very diligent! But when they met each other, it was love at first sight.

The new lovers spent all their time together. They were inseparable! And the cows ran wild and no more cloth was made. That made Tenkou very angry! He decreed that they would forevermore be separated by Amanogawa, that river of stars.

Ah, the tears that flowed from the young lovers’ eyes! Their sorrow was greater than anything the gods had ever known, and Tenkou regretted his harsh judgment. So, he told Orihime and Hikoboshi that if they were once again diligent and worked hard all year, they could meet again every year on the seventh evening of the 7th month.

Traditionally, people wished for the sky to be clear on that evening so the two could meet again over the Milky Way. If it rained that day, the water level of the river Amanogawa got too high and could not be crossed. People wrote their wish for the young lovers on a piece of paper and tied the paper on a bamboo tree.

Nowadays, people write their own wish on the paper. This is the most well known story of Tanabata, even though there are others. It seems this story originally came from China. Also, in the Chinese calendar, there is usually a half moon on July 7 and they believe Orihime and Hikoboshi use that half moon as a boat to meet each other over the great river of stars in the sky, Amanogawa.