On July «7, the emperor appears on the upper veranda of Omima Palace to inscribe elegant waka poems on the leaves of the kaji paper tree and present the poems to two stars: Prince Altair and Princess Vega. According to legend, stars in love could meet by crossing the Milky Way only once a year — on this July night.
For the «Star Festival» ceremony, 7 kaji tree leaves, 2 long pieces of traditional sakubei sweets steamed from flour and rice, and 7 threads of thin somen noodles are laid out in front of the emperor on a special ceremonial stand. Nearby, 7 ink tiles, 2 brushes, an ink stick and a tarot sheet for storing dew drops are prepared on a tray. Next, the servants rub ink with drops of dew, and the emperor writes poetry on each of the 7 leaves, using ink from different ink tiles for each sheet.
This short and simple story about the Tanabata ceremony (formerly — «Star Festival») at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto was left to us by history.
«Star Festival» originates from the «Art Petitions» festival, which was celebrated by the emperor's associates and the palace aristocracy in Kyoto during the Heian era (from approximately 794 to 1185). The festival came to the general public during the early Edo era (first half of the 17th century), when the festival's traditions were mixed with various ritual activities of the Obon Buddhist ceremony, and gradually the festival was transformed into the modern Tanabata festival. In the Edo era, girls were wished skill in sewing and such painstaking work, and boys were wished — skill in improving their handwriting when writing wishes on thin pieces of paper.
These days, on the day of the Tanabata festival, the Japanese compose, sometimes in poetic form, and write wishes on long rectangular strips of multi-colored paper called tanzaku.
Then they decorate bamboo branches with their works, prepared especially for this July festival. Traditionally, bamboo branches from tanzaku can be seen along rivers and canals, near shops, hospitals and hospital halls, in restaurants, near schools and even kindergartens. Interestingly, clean Tanzaku leaves and writing instruments must be prepared and laid out here. After making a purchase or having lunch at a restaurant, you can immediately write your wish and attach it to the nearest branch. And then — patiently wait for it to be performed.
Of course, teenagers, high school students, and students are most partial to the holiday. On college campuses, serious preparations are underway for July 7, or rather, for the night of July 6-7, when the meeting between Vega and Altair takes place. Here you can see trees decorated with tanzaku (many tanzaku take on the shape of hearts), paper lanterns, talismans, homemade concert venues, and trays of cooking food. Evening will come, young people and girls, dressed in light summer kimonos called yukata, will begin the celebration, hoping to fulfill all their wishes, most of which are — hopes of meeting one and only love.
There are several legends about the origin of the «Star Festival» Tanabata (Japanese). ⁇ ). In the Japanese presentation, the most famous and romantic — is about the love of the girl Orihime (literally — «-spinning princess») and the young man Hikoboshi (literally — «-passing cows»). And it was so...
A girl named Orihime, daughter of the heavenly king Tenko, spun beautiful clothes on the banks of the Heavenly River. Her father was very fond of the clothes that his daughter spun, so the girl had to work tirelessly every day. Everything would be fine, but due to hard work, Orihime could not meet or love anyone. Taking care of his daughter, Tenko arranged for her to meet a young man named Hikoboshi, who lived and herded a herd of cows on the opposite bank of the Heavenly River. As soon as the young people met, they immediately fell madly in love with each other and got married in a short time.
Everything would be fine, but being bound by family ties, Orihime could no longer spin clothes for Tenko, and the cows that Hikoboshi had previously herded so diligently scattered throughout the celestial field. Angered by this, Tenko separated the lovers, leaving them on opposite sides of the Heavenly River and forbade them to meet. Orihime became sad and despondent after losing her husband. Inconsolable, she asked her father for permission to meet her beloved. Touched by his daughter's tears, Tenko allowed the young people to meet on the seventh day of the seventh month if Orihime worked diligently and finished spinning.
Everything would be fine, but the first time the lovers tried to meet, they discovered that they could not cross the — river there was no bridge across the river. Orihime wept so much that the magpies flocked and promised to build a bridge across the river, spreading and connecting the wings so that the lovers could meet. Everything would be fine, but the magpies also said that if it rains, they will not be able to fly in and fulfill their promise, and the two lovers will have to wait until next year...
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