Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, two stars are allowed to meet.
That’s the whole premise of TANABATA (七夕) — one of Japan’s most beloved seasonal events, and one that, unlike a lot of Japanese festivals, actually comes with a love story attached.
The Legend
The story goes like this: ORIHIME (Vega), a weaver princess, and HIKOBOSHI (Altair), a cowherd, fell in love and got married, but then promptly stopped doing any work at all. They were so wrapped up in each other that ORIHIME abandoned her weaving and HIKOBOSHI neglected his cattle — which, understandably, annoyed the Heavenly Emperor enough that he separated the two lovers across the Milky Way, permanently.
Permanently, that is, except for one night a year. On July 7th, the two are allowed to reunite — provided the skies are clear enough for them to cross.
This legend actually arrived in Japan from China, layered with a second Chinese custom called KIKKŌDEN (乞巧奠) — a night when people prayed to the weaver star for better skills in sewing, calligraphy, and the performing arts. And then it merged with something already Japanese: the legend of TANABATA TSUME, a woman who wove sacred cloth by the water as an offering to a visiting god. Three different threads — literally and figuratively — twisted into the one festival Japan celebrates today.
On a Personal Note…
Tanabata is, at its heart, a day when two people who can never meet are finally allowed to see each other again after a whole year apart. I find myself thinking about that for a moment — and then it hits me: I probably have people in my own life I haven’t seen in a year, too. Or maybe longer.
Maybe Tanabata is also a good day to reach out to one of them. Just a quick “hisashiburi!” (久しぶり — long time no see). You never know — in a few years, this might become its own little Tanabata custom: reconnecting with someone you haven’t seen in ages. (Wouldn’t that be nice!?)
So now I’m thinking I might reach out to someone myself. Who will you say hisashiburi to?
How It’s Celebrated
The signature custom is SASANOHA KAZARI — a bamboo branch decorated with ornaments, each one carrying its own wish. TANZAKU, the small colorful strips of paper people write their wishes on and tie to the branches, trace all the way back to the five-colored threads of the original Chinese KIKKŌDEN ritual, which became cloth, which eventually became the paper we use today. Alongside them hang paper cranes for longevity, drawstring bags for financial luck, and paper kimonos for health — a whole wish list, hung out to catch the wind.
This custom is mainly observed in family households — most often ones with younger children — where a bamboo branch is either bought or cut from a bamboo forest and decorated at home.
But you don’t have to look far to find it anywhere else, either. Supermarkets and shopping malls all over Japan set up their own bamboo branches each year, with TANZAKU laid out for customers to write a wish on and tie up right there on their way to grocery shopping.
It’s a quiet custom — everyone seems to just know what to do — and it’s always a little bit of fun to take a quick peek at the wishes hanging there, especially the ones written by younger children in their cute, wobbly handwriting.
And then there are the cities that take it several steps further. SENDAI, in Miyagi Prefecture, hosts one of the largest TANABATA festivals in the country, with entire streets draped in thousands of oversized, elaborately handmade paper streamers. SHONAN HIRATSUKA, in Kanagawa, runs one of the most popular TANABATA festivals in the Kanto region, known for its equally striking decorations and lively street parades. Same bamboo branch, same tanzaku — just scaled up into something genuinely spectacular.
What’s Eaten on This Day
If TANABATA has a signature food, it’s SŌMEN — thin, cool wheat noodles that are as much a symbol as they are a meal. Their fine white strands are said to represent the threads ORIHIME wove, and eating them on this day is a small, edible wish for her skill to rub off a little. It doesn’t hurt that they’re also exactly what you want to eat in the middle of a Japanese summer.
What I Cooked
> Food for the Event: SŌMEN
SŌMEN with two dipping sauces — a soy-based broth and a rich sesame version, along with the classic condiments of shredded SHISO (perilla leaves), sesame, and chopped chives. Simple on the surface, but the kind of dish where the dashi and the balance of the sauce actually make all the difference.
> Food in Season (SHUN): Winter Gourd / Okra / Tomato / Broad Beans
This is SHUN — eating exactly what’s in season, because that’s usually already what your body is asking for.
Winter Gourd — simmered into TOGAN EBI ANKAKE, winter gourd cooked until soft and finished with a shrimp sauce thickened into a light, savory glaze. TOGAN (winter gourd) is one of those wonderfully misleading ingredients — despite the name, it’s a summer vegetable, one that simply keeps well enough to last into winter. It’s almost entirely water, which makes it quietly perfect for the season: cooling, hydrating, and gentle on a body dealing with summer heat.
OKRA & TOMATO — brought together in OKURA TOMATO UME SHIOKONBU AE, dressed with SHIO KONBU (semi-dry KONBU seaweed simmered with soy sauce) and pickled UME (Japanese sour plums). Both are at their peak right now, and the pickled plum does what it always does in summer cooking: cuts through the heat and makes everything taste a little brighter.
Broad Beans — dressed simply in SORAMAME TARAKO AE, with cod roe, torn NORI seaweed, and a touch of sesame oil. Broad beans have a short window — they’re at their best for only a few weeks in early summer — so this is very much a “catch it while you can” kind of dish.
None of these ingredients were chosen for looks. They were chosen because this is precisely the moment they’re supposed to be eaten — and that, to me, is the real story behind any seasonal table, TANABATA or otherwise.
Want to Cook This — and Learn the Full Story?
There’s more to TANABATA than a bamboo branch and a wish — the full legend, the three separate traditions that merged into one festival, and the recipes and techniques behind this seasonal SŌMEN menu.
I walk through all of it in my cooking class at Wa + Sabi. If this story made you curious, and you’d love to cook the recipes using foods in season with me, that’s exactly where it continues!
NB: This is a seasonal class, offered only in June, the month before TANABATA (Star Festival). If the timing lines up for you next year, consider it a small stroke of luck.
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