仙台七夕まつり

Sendai Tanabata
Festival GuideEnglish

History of the Tanabata FestivalAugust 6‒8The Tanabata Festival can be traced back to“The Festival to Plead for Skills” in China,
which features the meeting of Orihime, theWeaver Princess star, and Hikoboshi, the Cow
Herder star. In Japan, it was adopted by theKyoto Imperial Palace during the Heian period
and then gained widespread popularity among
the general public by the early Edo period.
Since the princess was skilled at making handicrafts, people expressed their wishes to acquire talents as well by celebrating the meetingof the two stars.

Published byThe Sendai Tanabata Festival was first popularized during the feudal period by Lord Date
Masamune as a means to raise awareness ofSendai Chamber Of Commerce And Industry

Sponsored by Sendai TanabataFestival Support Association, City of Sendai,
General Incorporated Association Machikuru Sendai,
Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association

Loople Sendai“ Tanabata Night Bus”
Visit all of the nighttime events along the Loople
Sendai route on this special Tanabata Night Bus!
Days of Operation: Aug. 6 – 8
Timetable: Runs every 20 minutes from 17:20.
The last bus departs from the Sendai Stationat 21:00.

Fare: Adults ¥260 / Children ¥130
Main Stops:

14613

1Sendai
StationZuihoden
Mausoleum

Site ofSendai Castle

Jozenji-dori Ave. /Sendai City HallSendai
Station＊Loople Sendai will operate as usual during the day.
＊A one-day Loople Sendai pass, one-day pass for the Loople Sendai andSubway, Sendai Marugoto pass, SENDAI AREA PASS, IC card (icsca, Suica,PASMO) Senior pass, and Fureai pass can be used.

loople-sendai.jp

七つ飾り
Wishing Uponthe Seven Ornaments

Becoming familiar with the seven paper ornaments, or “Nanatsu-Kazari,” is an essential partof understanding Tanabata. Each of the ornaments have a special meaning, and you can findthem throughout the city during the festival!

短冊短冊 Tanzaku
Paper Strips

Strips of paper bearing written poems that
express the desire to improve one’s studying andcalligraphy skills are an important feature of thefestival. It was customary to use ink made fromthe evening dew on the leaves of taro potatoes.

紙衣

紙衣 Kamigoromo
Paper Kimono

Paper kimonos are created to wish for improved
sewing and artistic skills. The kamigoromo usedto be released into the river at the end of the festival to wish for the safe and healthy growth ofchildren, although this component of the custom
is no longer practiced.

折鶴

折鶴 Orizuru
Paper Crane

Paper cranes are made to wish for the long andhealthy lives of one’s family members. It is customary to fold as many paper cranes as the ageof the oldest member of the household.

巾着巾着 Kinchaku
Purse

During this festival, a purse represents the wish
for wealth, thriftiness, and the flourishing of businesses.

the importance of women’s roles in culture. Thefeatures of Sendai‘s Tanabata changed after
the Meiji Restoration and the introduction of thesolar calendar system. With the advent of theFirst World War and the serious recession thatfollowed, the citizens of Sendai were disheartened and weary. In 1927, merchants decorated
the town with large Tanabata streamers in aneffort to raise peoples’ spirits. Having touched
the hearts of Sendai’s residents, the Tanabata
Festival was reinvented. Presently, the Sendai
Tanabata Festival is considered one of thethree major festivals in the Tohoku region, withover 2 million visitors coming to enjoy the festivities over the course of the 3-day event.

投網

投網 Toami
Catching Net

A catching net expresses a wish for large hauls offish to be caught. The toami net also represents
the desire to “catch” good fortune.

吹流

吹流 Fukinagashi
Streamers

Representing old weaving yarn, the fukinagashi
symbolize Orihime (the star “Vega” ). Thesestreamers are made to wish for improved handicraft and weaving skills.

屑篭屑篭 Kuzukago
Waste Basket

A paper waste basket is also made to wish forcleanliness and frugality. The paper waste thatresults from making the various Tanabata decorations is placed in this basket.

Sendai Tanabata Festival MAP

Festival SquareckChent!
Poi

Tanzaku-making Workshop /Tourist Information Center / resting spot

August 6‒8Aug. 6 – 8 10:00 –17:00

Beer Market with Popular Restaurants

Aug. 5 – 8 10:00-21:00

Sendai
City Hall●

Jozenji-dori Ave. /Sendai City Hall

SendaiMediatheque●●

Jozenji-dori Ave.

Hi
rose
River

7

Sendai Subway
Tozai Line

Kurax●

Aoba-dori Ave.

Sendai Castle Ruins
Tanabata Night Event

6Site of Sendai Castle

6＊Some events may be canceled due to weather.

P Temporary Police Station

Sendai
NamboSubway
ku Linei １0：00‒20：00

Hirose-dori Ave.

A 10：00‒18：00
P 10：00‒20：00●AEON Sendai

Subway Station●77 Bank
Head Oﬃce

Iroha
YokochoSendai Sta.

i
Senda i
AsaichAug. 6- 8 17:30- 20:30
Zuihoden Mausoleum

4
Zuihoden
Mausoleum● Zuihoden
Mausoleum

5●
WestinHotel
Sendai●Sendai
Kokusai
Hotel

1

JRSendai
StationSendai Loft
●Sendai
PARCO2●EBeans●

Hotel
Monterey Sendai
Hotel●Central Sendai ●Zuihoden
Tanabata Night Event● S-PALP AL Sendai Ⅱ● Sendaind PARCO

Richmond
Hotel Premier
Sendai Ekimae ●Aoba-doriIchibancho Sta.

2 Aoba-doriIchibancho

Loople Sendai Bus Stop

●AER

Hapina Nakakecho

CLIS ROAD●Hotel Crown Hills
Sendai Aoba Dori

1

●Miyagi Kotsu
Sendai Highway
Bus Center

800m

Sendai Ryokusaikan
Visitor Center

Date Koro Illumination Path
Jul. 20-Aug. 31 19:00- 21:00
Sife of Sendai Castle
Climbing Road

Aug. 6- 8 17:45- 20:40
Sife of Sendai Castle

1●Fujisakii Tanabata Information Center

1

●BiVi

East

www.more-jam.com/en/dateromanesque/ticket

Hirose-dori Sta.

i-dori Ave.
Minamimach

Oimawashi Summer Festival
Aug. 6- 8 Stage event from 17:00 / Bon Odori dance from 18:30
Date Romanesque (samurai performance)

3

Tanabata Decorations
Display Area

A First-Aid Station

West

Bansuisodo

Denryoku
Building ●Marble Road Omachi● Koyo Grand HotelSta.

SENDAI LUMINACT
Aug. 6- 8 Event hours: 11:00-21:00 / Light-up hours: 17:00-21:00

14iSenda

3● Sendai
FORUS

Mitsui Garden Hotel Sendai●Hirose-dori
Subway Station

Sakai Koji

Higashi-Nibanchodori Ave.

Bansuisodo●HigashiNibancho ●Square

Marble Road Omachi

Sunmall Ichibancho● Sendai Ryokusaikan
Visitor Center2P 10：00‒20：00

Ikoi Koji

5Sendai Dai-ichi
Seimei Tower
Building●Did you know that the Tanabata decorations are actually judged? The
results are announced by the evening of Aug. 6, so let’ s search for thegold, silver, and bronze prize tags
and find the winners ourselves!

Aug. 7 18:30- 20:00
Ikoi Koji & Sakai Koji
Vlandome Ichibancho←Site of Sendai Castle
Sendai City Museum/Sendai International Center/Sendai Ryokusaikan Visitor CenterO
Ko maen chi
St Nia. shi

NishikichoPark● Sendai Chamberof Commerceand Industry

choi-Niban
Higashve.
dori ASendai InternationalCenter ●Vlandome Ichibancho

8900m＊Rain or shine / will be cancelled in the eventof stormy weather

Tens of thousands of brightly
colored handmade paper
cranes will be strung up
outside the Fujisaki Department Store! A great photospot for sure!

仙台七夕

国際センター駅

花火祭

Aug. 5 19:15- 20:30
Nishi Park Area

Paper CraneStreamers

NishiPark

10：00‒20：00

P 10：00‒20：00

Letʼs ﬁndthe gold prize winners!

The Sendai Tanabata Suzume Odori dance
parade will be held at Ikoi Koji Alley andSakai Koji Alley, which connect Marble Road
Omachi Shopping Street and the back streetof Vlandome Ichibancho Shopping Street.

ve.
i-dori A
amisugAtago-K

16,000 fireworks will be launched on theeve of the Sendai Tanabata Festival tocommemorate the start of the festivities!

i3

Sendai Tanabata
Suzume Odori Dance

Kotodai
Park●Sendai
Mitsukoshi
Ichibancho YonchomeFireworks

Kokubuncho-dori Ave.

Bansui-dori Ave.

International Center Subway Station /Miyagi Museum of Art

4Sta.

Miyagi Museum of Art ●9Miyagi
PrefecturalOﬃce ●ai Koen
Kotod

Tokyo Electron 13
12 SendaiMediatheque Hall Miyagi*On August 5 (Mon.) from 17:00, and on August
8 (Thu.) until 20:00.

●
Hotel
Metropolitan
Sendai East

Sendai
Station

S-PAL
Sendai ●●Hotel
Metropolitan
Sendaii

9：00‒20：00

A 10：00‒18：00

SENDAI TOURISTINFORMATION DESK
（ i - SENDAI ）Tourist Information
Multilingual Support
Local Experiences

Sendai
Washington
Hotel ●

●SS30

i-sendai.jp
Operating Hours 10:00 -19:00