According to legend, on the night of the seventh day of the seven month (July) the two stars, Altair (牽牛星 Kengyūsei) and Vega (織女星 Shokujosei) are allowed to cross the Milky Way (天の川 Amanogawa, literally the “river of heaven”). From this once a year cosmological occurrence an annual event has emerged known as Tanabata 七夕 (“night of the seventh”). The Tanabata ritual festival consists mainly of decorating lengths of bamboo with colorful paper decorations on which wishes are written. In doing so, it is hoped that the wishes will come true. Tanabata has come to be associated with Obon お盆 (the summer festival when the spirits of the dead return to the land of the living) because it acts as a purification ritual (禊ぎ misogi) in preparation for greeting the returning spirits of dead ancestors during Obon. The making of decorations and the subsequent celebrating of Tanabata is widespread, although the festival held in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture is particularly famous drawing large numbers of tourists from all over Japan.
JapanFolklore 