Dear friends,
Today, July 7th is a special day in Japan, because people celebrate the Star Festival called "Tanabata." There is a very romantic story affiliated with this festival: if the sky is clear on that night two lovers can only see each other once a year across the milky way. This story originated in China and the legend was introduced to Japan in the 8th century and continued until today.
When I was working as a lighting designer a long time ago, my former French boss came to my desk and said, "Do you know Tanabata? It is such a very romantic story! I want to use this story as a concept of a new project".
Once upon a time, there was a daughter of the sky king "Orihime," the star of Vega; she was a beautiful young weaver girl. A young cowhand boy named "Hikoboshi," the star of Altair lived across the river. When they met for the very first time they fell in love instantly and from then on they had so much fun being together that they got married. They were so much in love that they stopped working hard and the king grew very angry and put them back on opposite sides of the river. Orihime cried and cried, so the king felt sorry for them and allowed them to see each other once a year across the Milky Way on the night of July 7th.
On July 7 the people of Japan write their wishes on colorful strips of paper and tie them on bamboo branches to celebrate the lovers' reunion. This decoration reminds me of when I was a child and when I wrote my wishes every year.
Going back to the lighting project topic, unfortunately, the couple who were our clients broke up and the project ended without completion. Their real-life was not the same as the legendary romantic story.
Anyway, this year I chose star-shaped Japanese sweets for matcha to hope for clear skies so that the lovers in the sky can see each other on the Milky Way. May everyone's wishes come true.
All the best,
Kumiko
Edited by Janice Ensminger