Tanabata

July 7 is when Japan celebrates the Tanabata festival. Branches of bamboo grass are festooned with paper decorations, and children write their wishes for the year on long strips of paper that they hang from the branches. This is the Tanabata branch at our local public library, which has been up for the past couple of weeks (a bit like Christmas trees going up early in the UK).


The festival itself dates from medieval times, when it was a ritual of the stately Heian court, but the story it celebrates is actually an old Chinese folk tale. There are many versions, of which this is one.

The Heavenly Emperor had a beautiful daughter, the Weaver Princess (Orihime, the star Vega). She wove such lovely clothes that her father was very proud of her. Because she worked so hard, however, she had never had the time to fall in love, and she became sad and lonely. When the Emperor became aware of her sadness he arranged her marriage with a cowherd (Hikoboshi, the star Altair). The two of them fell deeply in love and were blissfully happy - so happy that the Weaver Princess neglected her work, and the Emperor no longer had any beautiful clothes to wear. Angry with the lovers, he ordered them to be separated, and they were forced to live on either side of the River of Heaven (the Milky Way). But he agreed to allow them to meet just once a year, and on the seventh day of the seventh month the heavenly boatman of the moon)comes to ferry the Weaver Princess across the Milky Way to meet her beloved cowherd.

If the Weaver Princess neglects her work during the year, the Emperor may cause it to rain to prevent their meeting. If this happens, however, magpies may fly into the heavens and make a bridge for the Princess to cross for her assignation with her husband.

Clearly the Japanese work ethic hasn't changed much since medieval times! Career women working too hard to have time for romance is commonplace these days, and husband and wife being separated because of work sounds a lot like tanshin funin, though that generally involves the husband moving away to follow his job while wife and children stay put to ensure the stability of the children's education. I wonder how much work (and love as a once-yearly reward for work) was emphasized in the original Chinese legend, and how much is Japanese adaptation?

Dan's kindergarten festival last week was actually a Tanabata celebration. The kindergarten yard was bright with lanterns and decorations, and the children dressed up in yukata summer kimono to perform songs and dances in front of their watching families.



Kei got into the mood and wore his yukata too. This is the two boys looking rather bored, waiting for things to start. Dan has noticed someone else with a camera and is reflexively starting to make the peace sign.



The festival started with all the children singing the kindergarten song.



Then came the class performances. Boys and girls in Dan's year danced separately, with the girls doing a fetching flower dance to Okinawan music while the boys were fighting ninjas. Gender stereotyping? In a Japanese kindergarten? Whatever gave you that idea?





Next everyone danced the Soran Bushi bon odori dance together, with its memorable lyrics: "Yaren soran soran soran soran soran hai hai!", after which there were fireworks. Fireworks displays are another traditional Japanese summer event, and the large ones are spectacular, but as this was a kindergarten we just had a few Roman candles.



Then all the kindergarteners got a lantern to take home, and we trailed our way back to the car with the boys arguing the whole way about whose turn it was to hold it. (They were pretty tired by that stage.)



We now have our own little bamboo branch up at home, with decorations hand-made by Dan at kindergarten. His wish says "I want to be Geki Blue!" (one of the Gekiranger superheros on TV - we don't even watch it at home, but playing rangers is one ofthe most popular games for three-year-old boys). Kei's says "I want to be a soccer player."



My wish this year is for good health and no major upheavals. I think Ume-chan the cat's is to be left in peace to sleep! What's yours?