At Tanabata (七夕) people write wishes on colourful paper strips called 'tanzaku' (短冊) and hang them from decorated bamboo fronds.
In ancient times people originally etched poems on the leaves of sacred kajinoki (梶の木 'paper mulberry') trees and offered them to the gods.
Ryokujuan Shimizu has a wonderful gift box for the Star Festival...
'Hoshi ni negai o' (星にねがいを 'When You Wish Upon a Star').
Small bags of colourful konpeitō (in 5 flavours) hang from a bamboo frond, mimicking the tanzaku seen fluttering on fresh fronds at Tanabata.
Orihime was the daughter of the 'Sky King' (天帝 'Tentei'). Each day she wove beautiful cloth beside the Ama-no-gawa (天の川), but her duties kept her from finding a partner.
Tentei thus arranged for her to meet with Hikoboshi, a local cowherd who worked on the opposite riverbank.
Orihime (織姫), represented by the star Vega, and her lover Hikoboshi (彦星), the star Altair, can meet only once a year.
On the 7th day of the 7th month, if the weather is fine, a mischief of magpies form a bridge across the 'Heavenly River' (the Milky Way) so they might meet.
Happy Tanabata! 七夕！ 
Tanabata Bird Case – Part 2
七夕バード事件
#OthersidePicnic X #MissKobayashisDragonMaid #FanFiction
#WSS366 #MastoPrompt 7/7
“It’s moving,” Riko said as the origami bird began fluttering.
“It’s the fan,” Kanna said.
Kanna and Riko’s eyes grew wide as the bird took flight, soaring over the classroom.
“Look, a bird got in,” a boy pointed.
“Listen,” a girl in rumpled clothes said. “It’s singing.”
“How lovely,” a third voice said.
“It’s like a dream. I can see the song,” a girl in the back said. She held a manga tightly in her hands, eyes wide, listening.
“It’s Kozakura-san and Kasumi,” Kanna whispered. “It’s a vision.”
Each of them saw Kasumi with her hair done up with dozens of blue bows. She was eyeing a strawberry-covered cake. Kozakura had a big smile and was cutting an enormous slice of cake.
“Your mom looks happy,” Kanna gently touched Kasumi hair, “and those are lovely ribbons.”
“There are Toriko-san and Sorawo-san,” Kanna said as the two adventurers appeared. The tall blonde Toriko was smiling broadly and held a large stuffed bear. The blue ribbon around its neck matched the one in Kasumi’s hair. A serious Sorawo stood next to Toriko, holding a small wrapped present.
Kanna giggled. It was so like the two women: enthusiastic Toriko and her serious girlfriend.
As quickly as the birthday scene had appeared, it dissolved, replaced by a new one.
This time Riko spoke, “That’s me! Oh… And I’m hugging Kasumi. And there we go—running. I’m pushing her on the swings. We’re having so much fun!”
Riko looked at the real Kasumi. “Is that what you want—to be real friends?” Kasumi nodded harder, smiling.
The vision changed once more.
“Look, that’s me,” Kanna said. “All grown up, still wearing my hair ties.”
“You kissed her on the cheek,” Riko said. “I want that too. If you kiss Kasumi, you have to kiss me.”
With one more burst of vision, the three girls appeared in a swan boat. Then, with a final flutter, the bird slipped out the open window.
“The visions—are they what you wished for?” Kanna asked, and Kasumi nodded, head bobbing wildly.
Kasumi finally spoke in a voice a little like Toriko’s. “I think if you wish hard enough, anything can come true.”
#MicroFiction #TootFic #NMPrompts #NMV366 #NMMP
#LightNovel #Manga #Fantasy #SliceOfLife #Yuri
#KobayashisDragonMaid #DragonMaid #小林さんちのメイドラゴン
#UraPi #裏世界ピクニック #Tanabata #七夕 #たなばた
Tanabata Bird Case – Part 1
七夕バード事件
#OthersidePicnic X #MissKobayashisDragonMaid #FanFiction
#WSS366 #MastoPrompt 7/7
“Ohhh…” Riko stared at the little stand of bamboo the teacher had put at the classroom’s #entrance. Each student had hung a Tanabata wish on it the day before.
“So many colors! Look at them dance!” Kanna said, looking at the slips of paper spinning in the breeze made by a fan the teacher had put nearby.
The other two girls were entranced, especially Kasumi, who studied each fluttering wish like it meant something.
“What did you wish for?” Riko asked, turning to Kanna.
“Silly, you’re not supposed to tell your wish,” Kanna replied.
“At least point it out,” Riko said.
Kanna pointed to a neatly #clipped slip of lilac paper.
Riko peered at it. “Ah, I can’t read it.” Then she turned to Kasumi, saying, “Which one is yours?”
Kasumi indicated to a white bird, the only origami on the bamboo.
Only the three girls noticed what happened next. Everyone else’s eyes had been drawn to Kasumi. The fan’s breeze had caught her long hair, and, for a moment, she looked like a witch child flying with her hair streaming behind her.
(1/2 Continued)
#MicroFiction #TootFic #NMPrompts #NMV366 #NMMP
#LightNovel #Manga #Fantasy #SliceOfLife #Yuri
#KobayashisDragonMaid #DragonMaid #小林さんちのメイドラゴン
#UraPi #裏世界ピクニック #Tanabata #七夕 #たなばた
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Happy Tanabata! 七夕
Tonight, we celebrate the meeting of Vega & Altair—two star-crossed lovers reunited once a year.
Wishes are written on tanzaku paper & hung on bamboo.
May your hopes shine bright tonight.
#Tanabata #七夕 #StarFestival #WishUponAStar
Happy Tanabata! 七夕
Tonight, we celebrate the meeting of Vega & Altair—two star-crossed lovers reunited once a year.
Wishes are written on tanzaku paper & hung on bamboo.
May your hopes shine bright tonight.
#Tanabata #七夕 #StarFestival #WishUponAStar
THE STAR FESTIVAL
chirr-chirr! insects also
work their looms...
stars of Tanabata
しやんしやんと虫もはたおりて星迎
-Issa (小林一茶).
Trans. David Lanoue.
Tanabata (七夕), also known as 'Hoshi-matsuri' (星祭り the 'Star Festival'), celebrates the reunion of the stars Orihime and Hikoboshi on the 7th day of the 7th month.
Here's a thread all about this romantic celebration...
️
https://x.com/camelliakyoto/status/1544109334828683264
Tentei thus arranged for her to meet with Hikoboshi, a cowherd who worked on the opposite riverbank.
The pair fell in love and married, but soon abandoned their duties: cloth went unmade and the cows caused havoc.
In anger Tentei separated them and destroyed any means of crossing the Heavenly River.
But his daughter's sadness forced a compromise...a bridge would appear once a year made from magpies (if the weather was fine!).
A TALE OF LOVE
Orihime (織姫), represented by the star Vega, and her lover Hikoboshi (彦星), the star Altair, can meet only once a year.
On the 7th day of the 7th month, if the weather is fine, a mischief of magpies form a bridge across the 'Heavenly River' (the Milky Way).
Orihime was the daughter of the 'Sky King' (天帝 'Tentei'). Each day she wove beautiful cloth beside the Ama-no-gawa (天の川), but her duties kept her from finding a partner.
KYŌTO'S CINDERELLA
One of Kyōto's most popular snacks for Tanabata is Matsuya-Tōbee's 'Tamaori-hime' (珠玉織姫), small balls of sugar and rice dough.
The sweets come in 5 colours, and although available all year round sell out quickly during the Star Festival
Imported from the mainland, Tanabata (七夕) evolved from 1 of the 'Go-sekku' (五節句)...5 events held on auspicious days throughout the year.
The 'Go-Sekku' (lunar calendar):
1/1 Kochōhai (小朝拝 New Year)
3/3 Kyokusui-no-en (曲水の宴 Feast of Drinking around a Meandering Stream)
5/5 Tango-no-sekku (端午の節句 Boys' Festival)
7/7 Kikkōden (乞功奠 Tanabata)
9/9 Chōyō-no-en (重陽の宴 Feast of Chrysanthemums)
THE STAR FESTIVAL
chirr-chirr! insects also
work their looms...
stars of Tanabata
しやんしやんと虫もはたおりて星迎
-Kobayashi Issa.
Trans. David Lanoue.
Tanabata (七夕), also known as 'Hoshi-matsuri' (星祭り the 'Star Festival'), celebrates the reunion of the celestial weaving princess Orihime (represented by the star Vega) and cowherd Hikoboshi (the star Altair) on the 7th day of the 7th month.
八尺様
