Tanabata七夕© The Japan Society (2021)

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Tanabata Festival   The Tanabata Festival in Japan celebrates an old love story about a weaver
princess and a cow herder. In the story, they are allowed to meet      only once a year, on July 7th, so many people celebrate their reunion on        this day. The two characters in the story represent two stars in the Milky Way so    Tanabata is also called the ‘Star Festival’.

Tanabata StoryOrihime and Hikoboshi both live in the Milky Way. Orihime is a weaver who makes
beautiful clothes for her father Tentei, Emperor of the Heavens, and Hikoboshi is acow herder. They meet and fall deeply in love. However they spend so much time
together that they start to neglect their work; the cows become sick and Orihime nolonger makes any clothes.
Tentei tries to solve the problem by splitting them up and sends them to separate
sides of the Milky Way River. However, Orihime and Hikoboshi are so upset that they
still don’t do any work. So Tentei decides that they should be allowed to meet one
day each year, on July 7th. However, it is said that if it rains the couple must wait
another year to meet.
Do you think the story has a happy ending?
Why?

If you were Tentei, what would you do?

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Fukinagashi Decorations
The Tanabata festival is famous for large and colourful decorations
which are hung up in town centres and shopping areas. One of
the most common decorations is called fukinagashi. These arelong streamers which represent the threads of yarn Orihime uses
to weave beautiful clothes.

© JNTO/Yasufumi Nishi

YukataLots of people enjoy dressing up in summer kimono called yukata
to attend tanabata celebrations and other summer festivals. Just
like normal kimono, yukata come in many different designs andcan be worn by anyone, but are more casual. Yukata are normallyworn with a type of sandal called geta.

Somen Noodles
There is no particular food associated with the Tanabata Festival. However, because
Tanabata takes place in the summer when the weather is very hot, cold noodle dishes
are often eaten around this time.
One popular summer dish is somen. Somen are very thin white noodles made from
wheat and are served cold with a savoury dipping sauce. Sometimes somen are servedin a special way called Nagashi Somen which means “flowing noodles”; the noodles
are poured down a bamboo chute in ice-cold water and people must try to catch themwith their chopsticks as they slide down. It can be tricky, but it’s a fun way to eat!

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Kanji Characters
In Japanese, the word for seven is nana or shichi and the kanji character for it is 七.
The Japanese word for evening is yu and its kanji character is 夕. Together the twocharacters make up Tanabata, which means evening of the 7th.
Why not try writing them below? Follow the stroke order and trace each character,then practice writing them on your own.

七夕七夕
②②①③①

tanabataWell done! Now you can practice writing the characters 星, for ‘star’ and 祭, for ‘festival’.

星星祭祭②①⑤③④⑥⑦⑨⑧hoshi①② ⑤③④⑦⑧⑩⑥⑨⑪

matsuri

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Tanzaku
If you are in Japan for Tanabata you will see lots of colourful
decorations, including coloured strips of paper called tanzaku
which are hung up on bamboo. Traditionally, people would write
a wish on tanzaku to pray for Orihime and Hikoboshi’s reunion.
Now many people write their own personal wish on tanzaku too.

Activity: Write a Tanzaku!
Make your own tanzaku with coloured paper/card byfollowing the instructions below. You can also use ourtemplates on the next page.
You will need:•   Coloured Paper/Card•   String or ribbon•   Hole punch•   Pen•   Scissors

Instructions:1.   Cut out a rectangle of coloured paper or card. It should be roughly 7cm by 15cm, but      it can be bigger or smaller.
2.   Using a hole punch, make a hole in the top of the rectangle, about 1cm away from      the  edge.
3.   Write your wish and your name on the tanzaku paper with a pen. You can add       extra drawings or decorations if you like.

4.   Thread ribbon or string through the hole and find a place to hang your wish.

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Activity: Tanzaku Templates
Make your tanzaku with our templates. Simply print and colour them in before carefully
cutting each out. You can also use them to practice writing your wish. The example on
the left is written in Japanese. It says “I hope to go to the beach this summer.”

Send us your tanzaku!
We would love to see what you have wished for this year. Send a photo of your finishedtanzaku to education@japansociety.org.uk or tag us on social media.
@japansocietylon@JapanSocietyLondon

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Activity: Tanabata Decorations
Tanabata is famous for its bright and colourful decorations.   As wellas large decorations in towns and city centres, smaller displays ofhomemade paper decorations are common. Use this pack to makeTanabata decorations and display them with your tanzaku wish!

You will need:• origami/coloured paper• scissors• glue/glue stick• ruler• pen/pencil

Suitable for all

Easy

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Paper Chain
1. Cut strips of coloured paper  approximately 10cm by    1cm (other lengths or widths also work!)
2. Put a small amount of glue on one end of the strip    and stick it to the other end to make a loop.
3. Place another strip through the middle of the first    loop and repeat step 2.

Diamonds
1. Start with a rectangle of coloured paper.  Fold in half    lengthwise to make a thinner rectangle (see picture A).
2. Use scissors to make cuts in alternate sides of the    rectangle (see picture B). Try to space the cuts evenly    and be careful not to cut all the way through.
3. Carefully unfold the rectangle and gently pull the top    and the bottom apart to see the diamonds.

A.

B.

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Square Ornament
1. Cut out rectangles of coloured paper  approximately    3cm by 6cm (other lengths or widths also work!)
2. Then fold all the rectangles in half so they look like    squares (see picture A).
3. Glue the squares together (see picture B).

glue

A.

B.

Streamers
1. Cut long strips of paper in different colours.
2. Glue the strips onto the bottom of other tanabata       decorations.
Picture A shows streamers attached to squares
Picture B shows streamers attached to the diamond.

A.

B.

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Key
1. Cut out small rectangles of coloured paper approximately    3cm by 9cm (other sizes also work!)
2. Fold in half so the top edge meets the bottom edge    and then fold in half lengthwise.
3. Draw the shape shown in picture A on the folded    paper and carefully cut it out. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to make    more keys.
4.Carefully link the keys together by threading a completely    unfolded key (see picture B) through the hole of a key    which is folded in half (see picture C).
centreof foldA.

B.

C.

Net
1. Start with a coloured square of paper approximately    15cm by 15cm. If only one side is coloured, begin with    the white side face up.
2. Fold in half to make a triangle, then fold in half again to    make a smaller triangle. Fold in half once more to make    an even smaller triangle.
cut hereA.
centreB.

3. Now fold the top point of the triangle down to meet    the bottom edge (see picture A) and then cut off the    small excess triangle on the right.
4. Use scissors to make cuts in alternate sides of the    triangle (see picture B). Space the cuts evenly and be    careful not to cut all the way through. You don’t need    to cut right up to the centre.
5. Carefully unfold the net and gently tug the bottom to    open it out. Stick a loop of paper or string onto the top    of the net to hang it up.

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