Trust / Hope - Tanabata Star Festival

Tanabata

Trust/Hope -Tanabata (Star Festival)

July 7th is the day of Tanabata or the Star Festival. Traditionally in Japan, it’s observed as the special day that two mythical lovers, Hikoboshi (Altair) and Orihime (Vega), who were separated by Amanogawa (The Milky Way), are allowed to meet once a year. On this day, Japanese people decorate bamboo branches with “tanzaku”, strips of paper in one of five colors. The colors are blue (or sometimes green), red, yellow, white, and black, corresponding to the five fundamental elements in the universe—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water—as described in the traditional Five Element Theory of Chinese philosophy. The Tanabata event originally came from ancient China, and in their myth, Kengyu (Hikoboshi) and Shokujo (Orihime) see each other on the night of July 7th. It is said that Chinese women in ancient times threaded five-colored thread into holes of seven needles and gave offerings in the garden to pray that their needlework skills would improve.

Tanabata is written in two ways in Japanese, 七夕 (the seventh evening) and 棚機 (weaving machine). The technique of silk making—weaving fabric with silk yarn spun from the silkworm cocoon—has been performed in China since ancient times. Back then, a lunar calendar based on the phases of moon was used in China. Modern calculations show that July 7th in the lunar calendar actually falls some time in August in the solar calendar we currently use. People in those days got to know seasons by moonlight or starlight and lived by them. On ancient clear nights under a waning moon, Altair, Vega, and the Milky Way must have shone beautifully. In modern times, people look up the sky to see constellations, but it is considered that people in ancient China enjoyed watching images of starlight reflected in basins of water. A poem in the Manyoshu (a collection of Japanese “waka” poetry compiled in the 7th and 8th Centuries) reads—“it was cloudy during the daytime but the sky cleared in the evening, and at night, the moon shone brightly and lots of stars became visible on July 7th.” That light helped young girls weave the most beautiful of silk fabrics, hoping to offer them to the gods, or so I imagine.

Here on the East Coast of the US today, when looking up the sky on the day of Tanabata, we can see the Summer Triangle—Vega of Lyra, a big pale star, Altair of Aquila, and Deneb of Cygnus. The Milky Way runs between Vega and Altair and passes through Deneb. At sunset, this triangle rises just above the Eastern horizon. While looking at the starry night in midsummer, I imagine the stars living for billions of years and think of how small I am in comparison. In a world of uncertainty, we need hope. Once a year on the day of Tanabata, I recommend that you too wish upon a star, just like the Japanese children who write their wishes on tanzaku strips, today. Each of the five colors has its own special meaning, so choose the one you like and write your wish. Something good may be coming to you.

Blue (or Green): The symbol of wood. This represents a wish to grow.

Red: The symbol of fire. This represents a wish with gratitude.

Yellow: The symbol of earth. This represents a wish with sincerity and promises.

White: The symbol of metal. This represents a wish for law and justice.

Purple*: The symbol of water. This represents a wish for learning.

* Purple is now used in modern Japan instead of the traditional black.

This year, I have written my wish on a yellow tanzaku strip.

The scarf of the month features the Tanabata myth.