Tanabata Festival

Last weekend Mobara shi held it's annual Tanabata Matsuri (town festival) and I was asked to join in the fun!

What does Tanabata mean?

The literal translation is "the evening of the seventh" and therefore the actual date is on the 7th of July. However, school summer holidays start later in the month so the festival is put off until the third weekend. The feast itself represents the meeting of the two stars Vega and Altair. The legend says that these two stars are lovers but are separated by the milky way and can only meet once a year on Tanabata day. These stars represent two Japanese deities Orihime and Hikoboshi.

There is also a famous Chinese folk story which came to Japan and is associated with tanabata festival. The story is about a princess and a cow shepherd who fall in love but can not be together. The princess is the daughter of the Sky King and she wove beautiful clothe. However, she worked so hard that she never had time to find someone to love. Hence, the king introduces her the the cow shepherd and fall in love immediately. They neglect  their duties and she weaves no clothes and his cows run wild on the meadows. This angers the King and he separates them by a river. The princess is heart-broken and cries so much that eventually the King concedes and allows them to see each other once a year. So, the 7th of July the birds come down to the river and form a bridge allowing the princess to cross and meet her love. However, it can not rain or else the birds can't build a bridge and the lovers must wait until year. If it those rain on the day, the rain is said to be the Princess's tears.

The Matsuri Celebrations

The matsuri itself is a big event! It is carried out over two days (Saturday and Sunday) and involves a lot of activities and events. On both days, groups of people perform their dances on the main streets whilst spectators line the streets to watch. These dances are amazing to watch as they include traditional Japanese costumes and props. Some members of my company make up one of the dance troupes and I joined in the dancing.

We organized three dances:

The first dance was a ladies dance and involves a kimono costume, geta shoes and a traditional Japanese hat known as a kasa. I was lucky enough to watch the ladies getting dressed before the performance. I can honestly tell you that putting on a kimono is no joke! The ladies had hired help to dress them and I honestly think that this is an art. It reminded me how closely related pain and beauty are in this culture. It was one of those memories imprinted in my mind.

The second dance involves the use of uchiwa (fans which are broad and flat) and the costume is known as a happi. This is similar to a yuugata but shorter and has a pair of shorts beneath. I danced this dance which includes both men and women. The ladies in our dance had to have their torsos wrapped so as to hold everything in place whilst dancing. I came to realize just how different Japanese and Mediterranean women are built physically after this wrapping experience. Needless to say it hurts!

The third dance involves a Japanese lantern prop known as a choochin which is made from a bamboo frame and wrapped in paper or silk. The members of this dance are all male and the dance itself was amazing.

The Japanese style of dance is everything you could imagine it to be. The moves are precise and clean cut yet very graceful. The dance moves are powerful and yet the dancers are lithe and move with speed and elegance. The techniques are intricate. The music is also traditional making use of Japanese instruments to create an unique sound.

Other groups carried out other dances wearing different costumes and different instruments. There were also stalls selling food and children's toys. It was a nice atmosphere and many people turned up decked in yuugata and kimono.  On a less positive note, this year the dances were cut short due to electricity shortage. The evening dances were cancelled so as to save light. Also, the dancers weren't given alcohol during the dance which is unusual. I think this year the promoters wanted to show a sign of respect by limiting the alcohol present. The festival itself was going to be cancelled but people thought that the people of Mobara and surrounding areas needed so cheering up so they proceeded.

It was an amazing an experience to be part of and I really enjoyed it. We had a nomikai afterwards which was organized by the company and later went to karaoke.