Tanabata is a Japanese festival celebrated on July 7. If you’re in Japan around that time, you’ll likely notice the poles of leafy bamboo (real or fake) that appear in shopping centers, city halls, and schools, hung with colorful paper strips bearing handwritten wishes. If you’re up for a more exciting Tanabata experience, however, there are a few appealing options. Read on for an overview of Tanabata’s history and a few recommended Tanabata Festivals across the country.
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01
The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd
Tanabata has a long and complicated history. The most obvious source is the Chinese festival of Qixi, which marks the annual meeting of the Weaver and the Cowherd—a celestial couple corresponding to the stars Vega and Altair respectively. In some versions of the myth, their love is forbidden; in others, they anger the Emperor of Heaven by neglecting their duties; in any case they are banished to opposite banks of the Milky Way, only able to meet by crossing a bridge of birds that forms on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.
The tale of the Weaver and the Cowherd appears in Chinese sources dating back thousands of years. In Japan, where the two are known as Orihime (“Weaving Princess”) and Hikoboshi (“Boy Star”), the story arrived at least early enough to be mentioned in a poem by seventh-century poet Hitomaro. In 755, Empress Koken imported another custom associated with Qixi: qiqiaodian (“begging for skills”), which involved women making offerings and threading needles on Tanabata night in the hopes of becoming better sewers and weavers. Meanwhile, the actual word tanabata is traced to yet another ancient custom, this one indigenous to Japan, of weaving a garment to be offered to the kami in the seventh lunar month.
All of these traditions blended together over the centuries, and in the early modern period Tanabata began to evolve into a more equal-opportunity event in which boys and girls (and men and women) wrote various self-improving requests on strips of paper that were hung from bamboo poles. Today, the romantic aspect of the Tanabata backstory is also emphasized, making it a popular occasion for a romantic summer date.All of these traditions blended together over the centuries, and in the early modern period Tanabata began to evolve into a more equal-opportunity event in which boys and girls (and men and women) wrote various self-improving requests on strips of paper that were hung from bamboo poles. Today, the romantic aspect of the Tanabata backstory is also emphasized, making it a popular occasion for a romantic summer date.
![An ukiyo-e print by Hiroshige showing bamboo poles hung with wishes over the rooftops of Edo in the mid-1800s
Utagawa Hiroshige, Public domain, via Wikimedia]()
An ukiyo-e print by Hiroshige showing bamboo poles hung with wishes over the rooftops of Edo in the mid-1800s Utagawa Hiroshige, Public domain, via Wikimedia
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02
Celebrating the Star Festival
Tanabata has been around so long in Japan that there are special festivals and rituals all over the country, but the “big three” Tanabata festivals are in Sendai, Miyagi; Asagaya, Tokyo; and Hiratsuka, Kanagawa. Since all of those are on the eastern side of the country, we’ll also take a look at “Tanabata Evening in Shitennoji Temple,” a special event in Osaka.
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Sendai Tanabata Festival
The Sendai Tanabata Festival dates back to the reign of Date Masamune, the legendary daimyo who ruled Sendai Domain from 1600 to 1636. The festival is actually held from August 6 to 8, to compensate for the difference between the old lunar calendar and today’s solar calendar. During the festival, the city’s shopping arcades are hung with huge, colorful kusudama balls, streamers, and other handmade paper and bamboo decorations. Food and drink vendors set up shop, live performances are held in Kotodai Park and the neighboring Citizen Square. There’s also a fireworks festival over the Hirose River on August 5, the night before the festival.
Access: Sendai Station on the Akita and Tohoku Shinkansen lines as well as the JR Senzan, Senseki, and Tohoku Main Line.![Sendai Tanabata Festival
Image courtesy of Miyagi tourist campaign promotion Council]()
Sendai Tanabata Festival Image courtesy of Miyagi tourist campaign promotion Council
Daiwa Roynet Hotel Sendai Ichibancho PREMIER
4-2-1 Ichibancho, Aoba-ku Sendai Miyagi
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04
Asagaya Tanabata Festival
The Asagaya Tanabata Festival is a more recent entrant to the Japanese calendar, having been founded in 1954. It’s also held in August—August 4 to 8 in 2023—and is best known for the huge paper decorations of cartoon characters on display in the Pearl Center shopping arcade and other parts of this generally refined neighborhood. If you arrive by train, listen out for the jazzy arrangement of the Tanabata song that plays at Asagaya Station. (Why jazzy? Because the area is also famous for the Asagaya Jazz Streets festival held in the fall.)
Access: Asagaya Station on the JR Chuo Main Line.![Asagaya Tanabata Festival]()
Asagaya Tanabata Festival
Smile Hotel Tokyo Asagaya
3-37-11 Asagayaminami, Suginami-ku Tokyo
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05
Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival
The Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival is held on a convenient weekend in July—July 7 to 9 in 2023. Well over a million visitors attend each year, making this a huge event. The plans for 2023 call for fewer street food vendors than in pre-pandemic days, but there will be food trucks and, of course, the local bars and restaurants are always available. In the evenings, the extravagant decorations overhead are illuminated for extra romantic charm.
Access: Hiratsuka Station on the JR Tokaido Line.![Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival]()
Hiratsuka Tanabata Festival
3S Hotel Hiratsuka
24-9, Akashi-Cho, Hiratsuka-City Kanagawa
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06
Tanabata Evening in Shitennoji Temple
This Tanabata event held at Osaka’s venerable Shitennoji Temple began in 2008. The temple grounds are furnished with an overhead “River of Heaven” that lights up between 7 PM and midnight (or 8 PM on the last day) for visitors to enjoy. In 2023, the event will be held from July 7 to 9, and organizers are planning concerts and a big closing bonfire in which everyone’s wishes will be sent up to heaven by the flames.
Access: Shitennoji-mae Yuhigaoka Station on the Tanimachi Subway Line.![Tanabata Evening in Shitennoji Temple]()
Tanabata Evening in Shitennoji Temple
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