Photos taken at the Sendai Tanabata festival which has been taking place since last Saturay - the last day is today! Am preparing a post on the festivities but wanted to share these Haruhi Tanabata decoratons first. At the festival, 3000 of these Fukinagashi [吹き流し] streamers are displayed around the many shopping arcades near Sendai station.
These Haruhi ones however were the only anime themed ones on display this year.
Most fukinagashi are hung from bamboo like this. The day before the festival begins, one can see the large bamboo with smaller bamboo hanging from strings.
The Tanabata festival is also a time to make a wish and Kadokawa have been collecting wishes from folks around the world at their Haruhi Negai site.
Tanabata (七夕, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star 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 July 7 of the Gregorian calendar. The celebration is held at various days between July and August.
The fukinagashi represent the strings that Orihime used to weave.
And here are the messages - over 30,000 collected so far.
Spoke to two ladies taking photos of the Haruhi fukinagashi - the lady in the blue yukata is an anime fan who is very in the loop with the latest titles including Mayo Chiki and Twin Angel ^o^
More from the Tanabata festival in a separate post and you'll be able to experience what went on in the second season of Culture Japan.
