#tanabata

tweet_maruko

takopi_pr

mogura_hozuki

_tatsuyaendo_

"Tanabata has a story about two stars, 織姫（Orihime）and 彦星（Hikoboshi）. In Japan, Orihime is described as a woman who weaves cloth, and Hikoboshi as a man who tends cattle. The two are separated by the 天の川（Amanogawa, the Milky Way）, and it is said that they can meet only once a year, on the night of July 7."

"People in the past wrote words and poems on 梶の葉（kaji leaves）and entrusted their wishes to them. Kaji leaves are known as a plant closely connected with Tanabata. The custom of writing wishes on tanzaku today still carries the history of Tanabata, in which people polished their skills, wrote words, and gave shape to their wishes."

X

"The decorations included not only tanzaku, but also various crafted shapes, such as hōzuki lantern plant shapes, account book shapes, watermelon shapes, and brush shapes. The brush and account book shapes were likely connected with wishes for writing and learning. For merchant families, the account book shape may also have carried a wish for good business. Shapes such as watermelon and hōzuki also expressed the feeling of summer."

X

"Tanabata was also connected with お盆（Obon）. In the old lunar calendar, the Obon season came after Tanabata on July 7. Obon is a Japanese event for welcoming the spirits of ancestors. Tanabata also included the sense of purifying oneself before welcoming the ancestors and preparing offerings.

It becomes easier to understand why sōmen noodles, gourds, watermelon, and fruit were connected with Tanabata when we look at it as an event before Obon. Tanabata foods were summer flavors, and at the same time, they were also things offered at a seasonal turning point."

"In Hokkaidō, there is a Tanabata custom called ろうそくもらい（rōsoku morai, candle receiving）. Children go around to houses in the neighborhood, sing a song, and receive candles or sweets. To explain it to people overseas, it may be easier to imagine it as something a little like Halloween.

Teruteru Bozu てるてる坊主 are little cloth dolls made to pray for rain to stop, if you've watched Weathering With You you've definitely see them before :)