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The Tanabata Festival +
On August 7th, Asagaya Tokyo held its annual Tanabata festival. Tanabata means “Evening of the seventh” and is one of the Japanese star festivals. Pingmag was there to capture all of the great floats that filled the streets. They caught everything from original characters designed by school children to our favorite anime characters.
The original Tanabata is based on the Japanese lunisolar calendar, and was held on the seventh day of the seventh month each year. However, our current calander doesn’t coincide with the Japanese lunisolar calender, so the festival is usually held sometime in August, the 8th month for us. Cities hold their own Tanabata festivals each year with the most famous one being in Sendai. The Tanabata festival of today is celebrated by writing wishes on small pieces of paper, then hanging them on bamboo. Then later the bamboo are either floated down a river or burned.
Check out Pingmag’s coverage of the Asagaya’s Tanabata festival for more pictures!
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Those pictures are cool. I didn’t see those floats; they must have been on Clis Road.
I love Tanabata. I’ve even hung wishes on bamboo for the last couple years. If I ever travel to Japan during the summer, I’m going to have my trip coincide with Tanabata, so I can partake in the official festivities ^_^