Festivals in the summer

Children's Day

(5 May 2008)

Also known as "Kodomo-no-i", this festival is a day for children occurring on the fifth day of the fifth month. Originally referred to as "Boy's Day" ("Girl's Day" is Hina Matsuri), Children’s Day is a national holiday in Japan. Families fly carp-shaped streamers (koinobori) on tall bamboo poles outside the house: the carp is a symbol of strength in Japan. Boys decorate a warrior doll with armour and weapons and everyone feasts on rice cakes (kashiwamochi) filled with sweet red beans and covered up with oak leaves or chimaki (rice cakes wrapped in cogan grass or bamboo leaves).

Tanabata (Star Festival)

(7 July)

The Tanabata Festivals are most famously held in Japan, especially in the cities of Sendai (6-8 August) and Hiratsuka (7 July). A few days before the festival, people traditionally write their wishes or poems on strips of colourful paper. They are hung on the branches of cut bamboo and put out in the garden on the night of the 7th. The coloured paper hung on the bamboo make such a pretty sight that they are sometimes called summer Christmas trees.

This tradition has its origins in a Chinese legend, which says that Kengyu (the star Altair personified as the Cowherd) and Orihime (the star Vega, personified as the Weaving Girl) were separated by Ama-no-gawa (the River of Heaven, or Milky Way). On this night Altair and Vega come together.