this view of tokyo skytree and all the colorful street decors is really one for the books. i am just so glad i took this detour one nightwalker journey, and this easily skyrocketed as one of my faves. it is not because of the picture per se but because of the meaning it holds despite the modern age.
before i got into full narrative mode, allow me to backtrack.
it was in one of my #nightwalker journeys where i walk around the neighborhood for fitness and for photo walk. i remembered that i was on my way home but my step count and duration where still a bit underwhelming. my body still wanted to walk some more, also in preparation for a great upcoming hike. it was then when i remembered of this road with a direct view of tokyo skytree; this would provide the minutes and another collection of photos. plus, it was a road i have never been on.
this scene greeted me. i unfortunately had no clue what the banner said, i read the name of the place and that this was a festival, but i unfortunately could not read the 3rd and 4th kanji which happened to be the most important words in that banner. it just dawned on me what this festival was as i walked this long stretch of road.
tanabata is a japanese festival which originated from the chinese star festival. looking at the two kanjis, 七 means seven and 夕 means night. and although i know that kanjis have multiple ways of reading, i have never encountered them read as "tana" and "bata" respectively.
here is what i read in one of the texts written along this street.
chinese legends tell of two star-crossed lovers, the weaver princess orihime and the cow herder hikoboshi, separated by the milky way. they could only meet on the seventh day of the seventh month of each year.
there goes the significance of the number "seven". in another reading, orihime is the japanese name of the star vega, the brightest star in the constellation lyra and fifth brightest in the night sky. and hikoboshi is the japanese name of altair, the brightest star in aquilla and 12th brightest at night. and together with one other star from the constellation cygnus, these three stars are called the summer triangle and are prominent in the northern hemisphere's summer sky.
by the way, this same festival is called chilseok in korea.
the festival is celebrated by writing wishes on long and narrow pieces of paper which are then hung on bamboo. i knew of this tradition from long ago, so when i saw the wish papers hung on the bamboos, that gave me the idea that this was tanabata they were celebrating.
the ball shaped decorations were based on ornaments originally filled with medicinal herbs used for incense and potpourri. made from paper flowers, they are adorned with streamers made to resemble princess orihime's weaving yarn, and represent a wish for the betterment and long life of all festival goers.
here were some of the wishes i saw. one wished that they (probably a couple) would stay together forever. another wished that he and his friends will get along forever: i would have copy pasted this same text in another sheet as my wish.
here is a closer look of those ball shaped decors called kusudama. the streamer tails looked lovely as they were blown by the wind. it rained for a bit earlier so some tails were stuck together.
it was a very pretty sight with the skytree as background. others must have also felt the same as they also took pictures of the street and the tower. by the way, writing and hanging a wish is free. in every place near a bamboo were tables, papers and pens for you to write down a wish.
here is another wish i would love to copy. this one wished for good health in the family. who wouldn't want that? i would have written a "2x" at the bottom of the paper strip to extend the wish to mine.
i have finally reached the end of that 1.2 kilometer long kappabashi hondori road. tanabata festival held on this road has been around since 1988. i am just glad they continued to celebrate even after the 3 year hiatus during the pandemic. and i am pretty sure that it must have been a very memorable and emotional event when it came back.
festivals like this one just gives you so much hope and so much strength to keep on. reading people's wishes and seeing that we all just wish for the same simple things makes you realize that regardless of race and status, we are all members of this one community called humanity.
tanabata omedetou!
as always, AMPING KANUNAY!
all content is by yours truly unless otherwise specified
all photos are taken with a galaxy s23 ultra
