Tanabata
Tanabata ( Japanese 七夕 , literally: seventh evening or 棚 機 , German Wega ) is celebrated every July 7th in Japan ; originally on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
On this day the two stars Wega (constellation Lyre) and Altair (constellation eagle) meet in the sky. According to ancient Chinese tradition ( Chinese 七夕 , Pinyin Qīxī ) these stars represent a pair of lovers who are separated by the Milky Way for the rest of the year .
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The Tanabata is of Chinese origin and is reminiscent of a cattle herder (Chinese 牛郎 , niú láng , Japanese 彦 星 Hikoboshi , German 'male star' ) and a weaver (Chinese 織女 / 织女 , zhī nǚ , Japanese 織 姫 Orihime , German 'weaver princess' ), who were banished separately to both banks of the Milky Way because their love interfered too much with their industry.
The most common variant of the story reads: Orihime, the daughter of the sky god, was a hardworking weaver. To give her a break from work, she was married to the cattle herder Hikoboshi by her father. They were so in love that they both forgot their work - the cattle got sick and the sky god got no new clothes. He was so angry about this that he banished Hikoboshi to the other side of the great river (the Milky Way). But because they still couldn't work because of their grief, they are allowed to meet once a year - at Tanabata. If it rains that day, the river will be too wide and too deep and impossible to cross.
On the evening before July 7th, bamboo trees are set up on which notes are hung with wishes, in the hope that they would come true.
The British Japan expert Basil Hall Chamberlain wrote in his " ABC of Japanese Culture " , published in 1890 :
“The stars are much less admired and celebrated in Japan than in Europe. The only notable fable that has anything to do with the stars is the one on which the festival called Tanabata is based. This fable, which is of Chinese origin, tells the love of a shepherd and a weaver. The shepherd is a star in Aquila, the weaver is the star Vega. They live on opposite banks of the "Heavenly River" or the Milky Way and cannot come together, except on the 7th night of the 7th moon. This night is sacred to them; Strips of paper with poetic effusions in their honor are attached to bamboo tubes and set up in various places. According to one version of the legend, the weaver girl was so busy making garments for the descendant of the heavenly emperor - God, in other words - that she had no time to think about the jewelry of herself. At last, however, their God, who had pity on their abandonment, gave to marriage the shepherd who lived on the other bank of the river. From then on, however, the woman became negligent in her work. God in his anger then forced her to return across the river and at the same time forbade her husband to visit her more than once a year. Another version depicts the couple as mortals who were married at the early ages of fifteen and twelve and died at the ages of 103 and 99. After death, their spirits flew up to heaven, where the exalted deity bathes daily in the heavenly river. No mortal is allowed to stain him by touch, except on the 7th day of the 7th moon, when the deity, instead of bathing, listens to the singing of the Buddhist scriptures. "
Astronomical background
Wega (Orihime) and Altair (Hikoboshi) are stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way . In addition, Deneb marks a dark "bridge" over the Milky Way, where it is covered by the Northern Coal Sack . The three bright stars form the summer triangle . The summer triangle reaches its highest point in the sky in August, which coincides with the original date of the festival.
Well-known festivals
The Japanese city of Sendai in particular is known for its colorful Tanabata festival. In Sendai, however, the Tanabata festival is celebrated a month later. The festivities, which will last from August 6th to 8th, start with a very large Japanese fireworks display (Hanabi) on the evening before, on August 5th , which can be seen over the Nishi-kōen Park .
The Japanese cities of Hiratsuka and Asagaya are also known for their colorful Tanabata festival .
literature
- Kurt Meissner, editor of Hermann Bohner : Tanabata, the star festival ; O. Meissners Verlag, Hamburg 1923; P. 155.
Web links
- Yumiyama Tatsuya: "Tanabata" . In: Encyclopedia of Shinto. Kokugaku-in , February 24, 2007 (English)
- Retelling of the legend at Kids Web Japan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (English)
- Sendai Tanabata Festival
- Tanabata Matsuri
- Tanabata Festival