Skip to content
Tanabata

File:Fussa_Tanabata_Festival-Tokyo.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ1193996· pop 38· linked from 212 articles

Also known as Double Seventh Festival, Night of Sevens, hoshimatsuri

thumb|right|Women dressed in yukata at Tanabata thumb|Tanabata festivities in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa in 2023 , also known as the , is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on 7 July of the Greg

Key facts

Holiday.holiday_name
Tanabata
Holiday.type
shinto
Holiday.image
Fussa Tanabata Festival-Tokyo.jpg
Holiday.caption
Celebration in Tokyo, 2010
Holiday.significance
Celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi
Holiday.date
7th day of the 7th lunar month

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
七夕 (19545533256).jpg
Show 2 more facts
Unicode character
🎋
Commons category
Tanabata
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~17 min read

Article

18 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Story
  • Names
  • Characters
  • Festival
  • Other stories
  • Human male and Heavenly female
  • Human female and Heavenly male
  • Customs
  • Date
  • Festivals
  • Sendai festival
  • G8 summit in 2008
  • See also
  • Explanatory footnotes
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

thumb|right|Women dressed in yukata at Tanabata thumb|Tanabata festivities in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa in 2023 , also known as the , is a Japanese festival originating from the Chinese Qixi Festival. It celebrates the meeting of the deities Orihime and Hikoboshi (represented by the stars Vega and Altair respectively). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The date of Tanabata varies by region of the country, but the first festivities begin on 7 July of the Gregorian calendar. The celebration is held at various days between July and August.

== History == The festival was introduced to Japan by the Empress Kōken in 755. It originated from , an alternative name for Qixi which is celebrated in China and also was adopted in the Kyoto Imperial Palace from the Heian period.

Gallery (28)

Connections

Categories