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{{Short description|Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
{{About|Double Seventh Festival in Japan|other related festivals|Double Seventh Festival (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name  = Tanabata
|type          = shinto
|image         = Fussa Tanabata Festival-Tokyo.jpg
|imagesize     = 
|caption       = Celebration in Tokyo, 2010
|official_name = 
|nickname      = 
|observedby    = 
|litcolor      = 
|longtype      = 
|significance  = Celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi
|begins        = 
|ends          = 
|date          = 7th day of the 7th lunar month
|scheduling    = <!-- e.g. "same day each year" -->
|duration      = <!-- e.g. "1 day", "1 week" -->
|frequency     = <!-- e.g. "Annual", "Every 4 years", "Once" -->
<!-- Use next three if holiday is the same day of the same week every year -->
|week_ordinal  = <!-- "first", "second", "last", etc. -->
|weekday       = <!-- "Sunday", "Monday", "Friday", etc. -->
|month         = <!-- "January", "February", "December", etc. -->
<!-- Use next four if the date changes in an unusual pattern each year -->
|date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date|holiday=Qixi Festival|year={{LASTYEAR}}}}
|date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date|holiday=Qixi Festival|year={{CURRENTYEAR}}}}
|date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Calendar date|holiday=Qixi Festival|year={{NEXTYEAR}}}}
|celebrations  = 
|observances   = 
|relatedto     = 
}}
[[File:TanabataTokyo.jpg|thumb|right|Women dressed in ''[[yukata]]'' at Tanabata]]
[[File:Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri - 2023 7 7.webm|thumb|Tanabata festivities in [[Hiratsuka]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa]] in 2023]]
{{Nihongo|'''''Tanabata'''''|たなばた {{lang|en|or}} [[wiktionary:七夕#Japanese|七夕]]||meaning "Evening of the Seventh"|lead=yes}}, also known as the {{Nihongo|'''Star Festival'''|星祭り|Hoshimatsuri}}, is a [[Japanese festivals|Japanese festival]] originating from the Chinese [[Qixi Festival]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brown|first1=Ju|last2=Brown|first2=John|title=China, Japan, Korea: Culture and customs|year=2006|publisher=BookSurge|location=North Charleston|isbn=978-1-4196-4893-9|page=75}}</ref>{{efn|"The Tanabata Festival is the Japanese version of the Chinese festival of the cowherd and the weaving girl, celebrated on the 7th of July."<ref>Eder, Matthias. "Review of Reviews". In: ''Folklore Studies'' 20 (1961): 301. Accessed June 23, 2021. {{doi|10.2307/1177332}}.</ref>}}{{efn|"The Chinese legend, so popular in Japan, of the Heavenly Spouses, the Cow-Herd and the Weaver Maiden (who weaves the clouds) ...".<ref>Katō, Eileen, and Kanze Motokiyo Zeami. "Kinuta". In: ''Monumenta Nipponica'' 32, no. 3 (1977): 341 (footnote nr. 27). Accessed June 24, 2021. {{doi|10.2307/2384372}}.</ref>}} It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars [[Vega]] and [[Altair]] respectively). According to legend, the [[Milky Way (mythology)#Eastern Asia|Milky Way]] separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the [[lunisolar calendar]]. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on 7 July of the [[Gregorian calendar]]. The celebration is held at various days between July and August.

== History ==
The festival was introduced to Japan by the [[Empress Kōken]] in 755.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.psychicsophia.com/aion/chap7.html | title=Shinto and Its Festivals | first=Denny | last=Sargent}}</ref> It originated from {{Nihongo|"The Festival to Plead for Skills"|乞巧奠|Kikkōden}}, an alternative name for [[Qixi]]<ref name="Hearn1905">{{cite book|last=Hearn|first=Lafcadio|title=The Romance of the Milky Way, and other Studies & Stories|url=https://archive.org/details/romanceofmilkywa00hear|year=1905|publisher=Houghton Mifflin and Company}}</ref>{{rp|9}} which is celebrated in [[China]] and also was adopted in the [[Kyoto Gosho|Kyoto Imperial Palace]] from the [[Heian period]].

The festival gained widespread popularity amongst the general public by the early [[Edo period]],<ref name="Hearn1905"/>{{rp|19}} when it became mixed with various [[Bon Festival|Obon]] or Bon traditions (because Bon was held on 15th of the seventh month then), and developed into the modern Tanabata festival. Popular customs relating to the festival varied by region of the country,<ref name="Hearn1905"/>{{rp|20}} but generally, girls wished for better [[sewing]] and [[Artisan|craftsmanship]], and boys wished for better [[handwriting]] by writing wishes on strips of paper. At this time, the custom was to use [[dew]] left on [[taro]] leaves to create the ink used to write wishes. Incidentally, Bon is now held on 15 August on the [[solar calendar]], close to its original date on the [[lunar calendar]], making Tanabata and Bon separate events.

The name Tanabata is remotely related to the [[Kun'yomi|Japanese reading]] of the Chinese characters 七夕, which used to be read as "Shichiseki" (see [[Kanji#Readings|explanation about the various kanji readings]]). It is believed that a [[Shinto]] purification ceremony existed around the same time, in which a Shinto [[miko]] wove a special cloth on a loom called a {{Nihongo|''tanabata''|棚機}} and offered it to a god to pray for protection of [[rice]] crops from rain or storm and for good harvest later in autumn. Gradually this ceremony merged with ''Kikkōden'' to become ''Tanabata''. The Chinese characters 七夕 and the Japanese reading ''Tanabata'' joined to mean the same festival, although originally they were two different things, an example of ''[[jukujikun]]''.

==Story==
[[File:Tanabata Festival in Edo (Hiroshige, 1852).jpg|thumb|[[Woodblock printing in Japan|Japanese woodblock print]] of Tanabata festivities in Edo (Tokyo), 1852, by [[Hiroshige]]]]
[[File:Making a Wish to Meet a Good Mate during the Tanabata Festival LACMA M.80.219.59.jpg|thumb|[[Yashima Gakutei]]]]
[[File:Japanese Edo Tanabata 02.jpg|thumb|Display of Edo Tanabata at Fukagawa Edo Museum]]
Like Qixi and [[Chilseok]], Tanabata was inspired by the famous [[Chinese folklore]] story, "[[The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl]]". Some versions were included in the ''[[Man'yōshū]]''.<ref name="Hearn1905"/>{{rp|25}}

The most popular version is as follows:<ref name="Hearn1905"/>{{rp|1}}<ref name="James">{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/stream/greenwillowother00jame#page/65/mode/1up |page= 65 |title= Green Willow and other Japanese Fairy Tales |first= Grace |last= James |publisher= Macmillan & Co. |year= 1910 }}</ref><ref name="Kaneko">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bGrmbaaJcT0C&pg=PA24|page=24|script-title=ja:きょうのおはなし なつ|trans-title=Today's story: Summer |first= Sōshū |last=Kaneko |publisher= Suzuki Publishing |year= 1984 |isbn=4-7902-4005-3|language=ja}}</ref><ref name="Rupp">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHkyUp-EH2MC&q=orihime+hikoboshi&pg=PA140 |page=140|title=Gift-giving in Japan: cash, connections, cosmologies |first= Katherine |last=Rupp |publisher= Stanford University Press|year= 2003 |isbn= 0-8047-4704-0}}</ref>

{{Nihongo|Orihime|織姫|extra="Weaving Princess"}}, daughter of the {{Nihongo|[[Jade Emperor|Tentei]]|天帝||extra="Sky King", or the universe itself}}, wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the {{Nihongo|Amanogawa|天の川|extra="Milky Way", literally "heavenly river"}}. Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet {{Nihongo|Hikoboshi|彦星|extra="[[Cowman (profession)|Cowman]]"/"[[Cowboy|Cowherd]] Star", or literally "[[Boy]] Star"}}(also referred to as {{Nihongo|Kengyū|牽牛}}) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime would no longer weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter's tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of [[magpie]]s came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come because of the rise of the river and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet. The rain of this day is called "The tears of Orihime and Hikoboshi".

===Names===
====Characters====
''Orihime'' and ''Hikoboshi'' are called various names in the different versions of the story.<ref name="Hearn1905"/>{{rp|10}}
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!'' ''
!''Orihime 織姫''
!''Hikoboshi 彦星''
|-
|Birth name
|棚機津女 or 棚機つ女 ''- Tanabata-tsume''
|牽牛 – ''Kengyū'' ("Cowherd")
|-
|Title
|女七夕 – ''Me-Tanabata ("''Female ''Tanabata")''
|男七夕 – ''O-Tanabata'' ("Male ''Tanabata''")
|-
|Various names and epithets
|秋去姫 – ''Akisari-hime'' ("Going to Autumn Princess")
朝顔姫 – ''Asagao-hime'' ("Morning Glory Princess")<br />糸織り姫 or 糸織姫 – ''Ito-ori-hime'' ("Thread-Weaving Princess")

百子姫 – ''Momoko-hime'' ("Peach-Child Princess")<br />薫物姫 – ''Takimono-hime'' ("Incense Princess")<br />蜘蛛姫 – ''Sasagani-hime'' ("Spider Princess")

梶葉姫 – ''Kajinoba-hime'' ("[[Paper mulberry|Paper Mulberry]] Princess"), the ''[[washi]]'' paper made from the paper mulberry

琴寄姫 – ''Kotoyori-hime'' ("String Musical Instrument Gathering Princess")

灯姫 – ''Tomoshibi-hime'' ("Luminous Bright Light Princess")

妻星 – ''Tsuma-boshi'' ("Wife Constellation/ Star")

機織姫 – ''Hata'ori-hime'' ("Weaving Princess")

星の妻 – ''Hoshi-no-tsuma'' ("Constellation/ Star Wife", i.e.: wife of ''Kengyū'')
|''飼星 – Kai-boshi'' ("Herder/ Shepherdman Star")<br />犬飼星 – ''Inukai-boshi'' ("Dog [[Herder]]/ [[Shepherd]]man Star")
牛引星 – ''Ushihiki-boshi'' ("Cow-tender Star")
|-
|Constellation title
|女星 – ''Me-boshi'' ("Female Constellation/ Star")
|男星 – ''O-boshi'' ("Male Constellation/ Star")
|}

====Festival====
The Festival of ''Tanabata'' is also known by various names:
{| class="wikitable"
! Name !! Transliteration !! Meaning 
|-
| 秋七日 || ''Aki-nanoka'' || "Seventh day of Autumn"
|-
| 芋の葉の露 || ''Imo-no-ha-no-tsuyu''  || "[[Dew]] from the leaves of the [[Yam (vegetable)|Yams]] or [[Potato]]es" 
|-
| 七夕雨 || ''Tanabata-ame'' || "Rain of the ''Tanabata''" 
|-
|七夕送り || ''Tanabata-okuri'' || "Embarking ''Tanabata''" 
|-
|七夕紙 || ''Tanabata-gami'' || "Paper of the ''Tanabata''", i.e. paper which carries the wishes 
|-
|七夕色紙 || ''Tanabata-shikishi'' || "Colored paper of the ''Tanabata''" 
|-
|七夕竹 || ''Tanabata-take'' || "Bamboo of the ''Tanabata''", i.e. the bamboo that carries the decorations or wishes 
|-
|七夕竹売 || ''Tanabata-take'uri'' || "Bamboo of the ''Tanabata'' which offers and carries" 
|-
|七夕棚 || ''Tanabata-dana'' || "Rack of the ''Tanabata''" 
|-
|短冊竹 || ''Tanzaku-dake'' || "Bamboo of the ''Tanzaku''" 
|-
|星今宵 || ''Hoshi-koyoi'' || "Evening of the Star" 
|-
|星宮祭 || ''Hoshi-no-miya-matsuri'' || "Festival/ Celebration of the Star Palace" – i.e. the twin star Altair and Vega
|-
|星祭 || ''Hoshi-matsuri'' || "Star Festival"
|}

===Other stories===
====Human male and Heavenly female====
Japanese scholars have pointed out that some tales of the ''Tanabata'' cross over with the character of the ''[[Swan maiden#The celestial maiden or heavenly bride|Celestial Maiden]]'' (otherwise known in Japan as ''Tennin Nyoobo'' or ''Hagoromo'').<ref>Takagi Masafumi. "[http://id.nii.ac.jp/1109/00003021/ &#91;シリーズ/比較民話&#93;(二)天人女房/白鳥処女]" [Series: Comparative Studies of the Folktale (2) Tennin Nyoobo/The Swan Maiden]. In: ''The Seijo Bungei: the Seijo University arts and literature quarterly'' 223 (2013-06). pp. 35–55. (In Japanese)</ref><ref>Yanagita, Kunio; Translated by Fanny Hagin Meyer (1986). ''Yanagita Kunio Guide to the Japanese Folk Tale''. Indiana University Press. pp. 25–27. {{ISBN|0-253-36812-X}}.</ref>

Comparative scholarship on the Japanese variants points that at the beginning of the story, the human male goes near a lake for a variety of reasons (a prayer to the gods for a wife; a vision sent in a dream; a grateful animal points him the way). Over the course of the story, the human partner reaches the celestial realm where his wife and her family live. Once there, he is forced to perform tasks before they reunite. At the end of the narrative, the husband breaks a taboo (he should not eat a certain melon/gourd, but he does and is washed away) and he and his celestial wife are separated, only to reunite again during the night of 7 July.<ref>노영근. "설화의 유형 분류와 비교 연구 試論 -<선녀와 나무꾼> 유형을 중심으로-" [A Trial Research for Classification and Comparative Study of Folktales -Focused on Swan-Maiden Type-]. In: 온지논총 no.24(2010): 83–85. UCI: G704-001782.2010..24.010</ref>

[[James Danandjaja]] relates the Japanese tale of ''Amafuri Otome'' ("The Woman who came from the Sky"), as a similar tale of the unmarried mortal man, named Mikeran, who withholds the [[kimono]] from a bathing lady so she cannot fly home to the sky. Years after they marry, she finds her kimono and flies home with their children. Mikeran fashions a thousand straw sandals to reach the sky world and find his wife. When he meets his parents-in-law, the father-in-law forces him to perform some tasks, and tricks the human with cutting a thousand [[watermelon]]s in one day. The human's sky wife knows it is a trap, but he does it anyway and is washed away by a flood created from the watermelons. Thus, they can only meet on the night of the ''Tanabata'' festival.<ref>Danandjaja, James. "[https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/56561/1/KJ00000131880.pdf A Comparative Study of Japanese and Indonesian Folklores]". In: ''Southeast Asian Studies'', Vol. 33, No.3, December 1995. pp. 210–211.</ref>

====Human female and Heavenly male====
Professors Masako Satō and [[Noriko T. Reider]] provided a narrative analysis of an ancient tale involving a human female and her future consort, Prince [[Ame-no-wakahiko|Ame-waka-hiko]]. In this tale of the ''[[Otogi-zōshi]]'' genre, the Prince takes the form of a serpent and marries a human woman. He later reveals he is a heavenly deity named Dragon Prince. After some time, he disappears and his human bride must seek him out (akin to the Graeco-Roman myth of [[Cupid and Psyche]]), even reaching the heavenly realm, where his father, an ''[[oni]]'', lives. At the end of this tale, the lovers are forcibly separated by the oni father and can only reunite during the ''Tanabata''.<ref>Satō, Masako. "Transforming an Ancient Myth into a Popular Medieval Tale". In: ''Japan on the Silk Road''. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2017. pp. 339–345. {{doi|10.1163/9789004274310_018}}.</ref><ref>Reider, Noriko T. "A Demon in the Sky: The Tale of Amewakahiko, a Japanese Medieval Story". In: ''Marvels & Tales'' 29, no. 2 (2015): 265–82. Accessed June 28, 2021. {{doi|10.13110/marvelstales.29.2.0265}}.</ref><ref>Reider, Noriko T. "Tale of Amewakahiko (Amewakahiko Sōshi): A Demon in the Sky, a Maiden in Search of Her Husband". In: ''Seven Demon Stories from Medieval Japan''. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 2016. Accessed June 28, 2021. pp. 135–155. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1g04zg4.9.</ref>

Noriko T. Reider draws attention to a second story of this combination: the "Qian Luwei Tale". In this version, the human wife's father is identified as Qian Luwei, and the male deity is Hikoboshi, the son of "Bontennō", [[Brahma]].<ref>Reider, Noriko T. "A Demon in the Sky: The Tale of Amewakahiko, a Japanese Medieval Story". In: ''Marvels & Tales'' 29, no. 2 (2015): 272–274. Accessed June 28, 2021. {{doi|10.13110/marvelstales.29.2.0265}}.</ref>

== Customs ==

[[file:七夕 (19545533256).jpg|thumb|right|Tanzaku hanging on bamboo]]

In present-day Japan, people generally celebrate this day by writing wishes, sometimes in the form of poetry, on {{Nihongo|''tanzaku''|[[wiktionary:短冊|短冊]]|tanzaku}}, small pieces of paper, and hanging them on [[bamboo]], sometimes with other decorations (see also [[Wish Tree]]). The bamboo and decorations are often set afloat on a river or burned after the festival, around midnight or on the next day.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/tanabata.htm
 |title        = Japanese Tanabata Festival
 |last         = Mishima
 |first        = Shizuko
 |publisher    = About.com
 |access-date  = 6 July 2011
 |archive-date = 10 July 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110710013713/http://gojapan.about.com/cs/japanesefestivals/a/tanabata.htm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> This is analogous to the custom of floating paper ships and candles on rivers during Obon. Many areas in Japan have their own Tanabata customs, which are mostly related to local [[Obon]] traditions. There is also a traditional Tanabata song:<ref>{{cite web
| url         = http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/holidays/Jul/song-tanabata.shtml
| title       = MIT Japanese "culture-notes" – Song-Tanabata, July
| date        = 5 March 2002
| work        = Japanese Language and Culture Network
| publisher   = Massachusetts Institute of Technology
| access-date = 6 July 2011
}}</ref>

{|
!Simple<ref name=ts>[http://www13.big.or.jp/~sparrow/MIDI-tanabatasama.html Tanabata-sama]</ref>
!Poetic<ref name=ts/>
!Transliteration
!Translation
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| lang="ja" | <poem>ささのは　さらさら
のきばに　ゆれる
お星さま　きらきら
きんぎん　すなご
ごしきの　たんざく
わたしが　かいた
お星さま　きらきら
空から　　見てる</poem>
| lang="ja" style="padding-left: 2em" | <poem>笹の葉　さらさら
軒端に　揺れる
お星様　きらきら
金銀　砂子
五色の　短冊
私が　書いた
お星様　きらきら
空から　　見てる</poem>
| lang="ja-Latn" style="padding-left: 2em; font-style: italic" | <poem>Sasa no ha<!--This is "ha" (葉/leaf) - not the particle "wa" --> sara-sara
Nokiba ni yureru
Ohoshi-sama kira-kira
Kingin sunago
Goshiki no tanzaku
watashi ga kaita
Ohoshi-sama kirakira
sora kara miteru</poem>
|style="padding-left: 2em" | <poem>The bamboo leaves rustle,
And sway under the eaves.
The stars twinkle
Like gold and silver grains of sand.
The five-color paper strips
I have written them.
The stars twinkle,
Watching from above.</poem>
|}

== Date ==
The original Tanabata date was based on the Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is about a month behind the Gregorian calendar. As a result, some festivals are held on 7 July, some are held on a few days around 7 August ([[Japanese calendar#Gregorian months and the "One-Month Delay"|according to the "One-Month Delay" way]]), while the others are still held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar, which is usually in August in the Gregorian Calendar.

The Gregorian dates of "the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Japanese lunisolar calendar" for the coming years are:
* 2018: August 17
* 2019: August 7
* 2020: August 25
* 2021: August 14
* 2022: August 4
* 2023: August 22<ref>Qixi Festival, 2022. Travel China Guide, https://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/qixi.htm. Retrieved on July 7, 2022</ref>
* 2024: August 10
* 2025: August 29
* 2026: August 19
* 2027: August 8<ref>Qixi Festival, 2022. Travel China Guide, https://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/qixi.htm. Retrieved on September 7, 2025</ref>
* 2028: August 26
* 2029: August 16

== Festivals ==
[[File:Sendai Tanabata 2005.jpg|thumb|right|The Sendai Tanabata Festival in 2005]]
Large-scale Tanabata festivals are held in many places in Japan, mainly along shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers. The most famous Tanabata festival is held in [[Sendai, Miyagi|Sendai]] from 6 to 8 August. In the [[Kantō region|Kantō]] area, two of the largest Tanabata festivals are held in [[Hiratsuka, Kanagawa]] (around 7 July) and in [[Asagaya]], [[Suginami, Tokyo|Tokyo]] immediately prior to the start of the Obon holiday in mid August. A Tanabata festival is also held in [[São Paulo, São Paulo|São Paulo]], [[Brazil]] around the first weekend of July and [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] in the beginning of August.

Although Tanabata festivals vary by region, most festivals involve Tanabata decoration competitions. Other events may include parades and Miss Tanabata contests. Like other Japanese [[matsuri]], many outdoor stalls sell food, provide [[carnival]] games, etc., and add to the festive atmosphere.

[[Tokyo Disneyland]] and [[Tokyo DisneySea]] often celebrates the Tanabata Festival featuring a greeting parade with [[Minnie Mouse]] as Orihime and [[Mickey Mouse]] as Hikoboshi.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/06/celebrate-disney-tanabata-days-at-tokyo-disney-resort/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113064544/https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2017/06/celebrate-disney-tanabata-days-at-tokyo-disney-resort/|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 January 2018|title=Celebrate Disney Tanabata Days at Tokyo Disney Resort|work=Disney Parks Blog|access-date=2018-02-04|language=en-us}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:MoriokaShoppingMall.JPG|In a shopping mall at Morioka, 2003
File:Asagaya Tanabata 09-2.jpg|[[Asagaya]], Suginami Ward in Tokyo, 2009
File:Shōnan Hiratsuka Tanabata Matsuri -03.jpg|[[Hiratsuka]], 2011
File:SendaiTanabata2.jpg|[[Sendai]], 2005
</gallery>

== Sendai festival ==
The [[Sendai, Miyagi|Sendai]] Tanabata Festival is the most famous in Japan. Tanabata has been celebrated in the region since the time of Date Masamune (1567–1636) who was the first [[daimyo|warlord]] in the Sendai area.<ref name="JNTO">{{Cite web |url=https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/spot/festival/sendaitanabata.html |title=Sendai Tanabata Matsuri |publisher=Japan National Tourism Organization |language=en |access-date=2018-07-05 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The festival began shortly after the city was founded in the early [[Edo Period]]. The Tanabata festival gradually developed and became larger over the years. Although the festival's popularity started to dwindle after the [[Meiji Restoration]], and almost disappeared during the economic depression that occurred after World War I, volunteers in Sendai revived the festival in 1928 and established the tradition of holding the festival from 6 to 8 August.

During World War II it was impossible to hold the festival, and almost no decorations were seen in the city from 1943 to 1945, but after the war, the first major Tanabata festival in Sendai was held in 1946, and featured 52 decorations. In 1947, the [[Hirohito|Showa Emperor Hirohito]] visited Sendai and was greeted by 5,000 Tanabata decorations. The festival subsequently developed into one of the three major summer festivals in the [[Tōhoku region]] and has become a major [[tourism in Japan|tourist attraction]].  The festival now includes a [[fireworks]] show that is held on 5 August.

At the Sendai Tanabata Festival, people traditionally use seven different kinds of decorations, which each represent different meanings. The seven decorations and their symbolic meanings are:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nippon.com/en/guide-to-japan/gu008003/ |title=Sendai's Tanabata Matsuri: Four Centuries of Vivid Colors |date=2018-06-09 |website=Nippon Communications Foundation |language=en |access-date=2018-07-05}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Tanzaku.jpg|{{Nihongo|Paper strips|短冊|Tanzaku}}: Handwritten wishes for a good future to the earth and a thanks note 
File:Hanging kamigoromo.jpg|{{Nihongo|Paper kimono|紙衣|Kamigoromo}}: Paper decoration
File:TanabataOrizuru.jpg|{{Nihongo|Paper crane|折り鶴|Orizuru}}: Origami decoration for long life
File:Kinchaku.jpg|{{Nihongo|Purse|巾着|Kinchaku}}: Decoration for good business
File:Toami.jpg|{{Nihongo|Net|投網|Toami}}: Paper decoration for good fishing
File:Kuzukago.jpg|{{Nihongo|Trash bag|くずかご|Kuzukago}}: Paper decoration for cleanliness
File:TanabataStreamer.jpg|{{Nihongo|Streamers|吹き流し|Fukinagashi}}: Paper tubular streamer for improved weaving skills
</gallery>
The ornamental ball (薬玉; [[Kusudama]]) often decorated above streamers in present-day Tanabata decorations was originally conceived in 1946 by the owner of a shop in downtown Sendai. The ball was originally modeled after the [[dahlia]] flower. In recent years, box-shaped ornaments have become popular alternatives to the ornamental ball. Since 2018, streamers inspired by the costumes of the [[List of Olympic medalists in figure skating|two-time Olympic]] [[figure skating]] champion [[Yuzuru Hanyu]] have been on display at the [[Zuihōden]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://artexhibition.jp/topics/news/20240803-AEJ2248273/|title=【羽生結弦さん情報】「notte stellata」の衣装モチーフ吹き流しを8月6日(火)～8日(木)に瑞鳳殿（仙台）で公開 ([Information about Yuzuru Hanyu] Streamers featuring the costume motif from "Notte Stellata" will be on display at Zuihoden (Sendai) from August 6th (Tue) to 8th (Thu) - in Japanese)|first= |last= |work= Art Exhibition Japan|date= August 3, 2024}}</ref>

==G8 summit in 2008==
[[File:34th G8 summit member 20080707.jpg|thumb|Participating leaders at the [[34th G8 summit]]]]
In 2008, the [[34th G8 summit]] in [[Tōyako, Hokkaidō]] coincided with Tanabata.<ref>Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA): [http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/info/pdf/schedule.pdf Schedule] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219173140/http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/info/pdf/schedule.pdf |date=19 December 2008 }}; Reuters (India): [https://web.archive.org/web/20090201010026/http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINT30931120080703?sp=true  "Factbox – Schedule for G8 Summit and Surrounding Events News."] 3 July 2008.</ref>  As host, [[Japanese Prime Minister]] [[Yasuo Fukuda]] invited the G8 leaders to participate in the spirit of the festival. They were each asked to write a wish on a piece of paper called ''tanzaku'', to hang the ''tanzaku'' on a [[bamboo]] tree, and then to take the necessary actions to change the world for the better.<ref>2008 Japan G8 Summit NGO Forum. [http://www.g8ngoforum.org/english/2008/04/about-toyako-tanzaku-action.html  " About Tanzaku Action – One Million Wishes,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20080720085059/http://www.g8ngoforum.org/english/2008/04/about-toyako-tanzaku-action.html |date=20 July 2008 }} July 2008.</ref>  As a symbolic gesture, the actual writing and the act of hanging up that note is at least a first step.<ref>Saito, Mari and Sophie Hardach. [https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUST293677  "G8 leaders to wish upon a bamboo tree at summit,"] Reuters. 2 July 2008.</ref>

The [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] made colored strips of paper and a bamboo tree for G8 wishes available in [[Roppongi]] during the summit.<ref>Japan, MOFA: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/event/2008/6/1180777_936.html "Setting up of the Public Relations Booth for the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit,"] 16 June 2008.</ref> Protesting organizations in [[Sapporo]] during the G8 summit also tried to use the spirit of Tanabata to focus attention on a somewhat different set of wishes. [[Non-governmental organization]]s including [[Oxfam]] and [[CARE (relief)|CARE International]] set up an online wish petition campaign to coincide with the G8 Summit and Tanabata.<ref>Oxfam: [http://www1.oxfam.qc.ca/en/actions/pour_tous/tanabata "Tanabata: Your wishes to the Summit!"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608191608/http://www1.oxfam.qc.ca/en/actions/pour_tous/tanabata |date=8 June 2008 }} July 2008.</ref> Outside Japan, Fukuda's timely gesture had unanticipated consequences. For example, the Indian nationally circulated newspaper, ''[[The Hindu]]'', picked up on this festival theme by printing an editorial featuring unconventional Tanabata wishes.<ref>Cooper, Andrew F. and Ramesh Takur. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080713023417/http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/07/stories/2008070755351000.htm "Wishing on a star for the G8 summit,"] ''The Hindu'' (Chennai). 7 July 2008.</ref>

Fukuda also invited his fellow citizens to try turning off the lights in their house and stepping outside to enjoy with their family the sight of the Milky Way in the night sky.<ref>Japan, Prime Minister of Japan: [http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/m-magazine/backnumber/2008/0703.html  "Before Tanabata, the Star Festival,"] Fukuda Cabinet E-mail Magazine No. 38 (3 July 2008).</ref> On 7 July, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment anticipated that over 70,000 facilities and households across Japan would switch off their lights from 20:00 to 22:00 as a symbolic step and as a wish for the future.<ref>[http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/cont/g8summit_news/33262.html  "Lights to be turned off at 72,000 facilities on Tanabata night,"] ''Hokkaido Shimbun'' (Sapporo). 4 July 2008.</ref>

== See also ==
* ''[[Sekidera Komachi]]'', a famous [[Noh]] play set during the Tanabata festival
* [[Mobara]] Tanabata Festival
* [[Qixi Festival]]
* [[Chilseok]]
* [[Japanese festivals]]

== Explanatory footnotes ==
{{notelist|}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Como, Michael. ''Weaving and Binding: Immigrants Gods and Female Immortals in Ancient Japan''. University of Hawai'i Press, 2009. Accessed June 30, 2021. {{JSTOR|j.ctt6wqcr3}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/july/tanabata.html Kids Web Japan]
* [http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/michi/cgi/detail.cgi?dasID=D0004200002_00000 Tanabata Festival in Sendai][[NHK]]

[[Category:August observances]]
[[Category:Festivals in Japan]]
[[Category:July observances]]
[[Category:Observances set by the traditional Japanese calendar]]
[[Category:Shinto]]