Hi Everyone!
Most of us are aware of the phrase “star-crossed lovers,” where, as in Romeo and Juliet, a pair that are passionately in love with each other are prevented from being with each other due to obstacles that appear to be immovable.
Romeo and Juliet: The Balcony
While the characters in the story probably wish we would write their endings differently, we love these kind of stories, which persist in Western literature from the story of Pyramus and Thisbe to West Side Story and more. However, in the East, there is a legend that puts a new twist into the phrase “star-crossed lovers.”
Last week, on July 7, Japan celebrated a festival called “Tanabata.” Tanabata occurs when Altaire and Vega “meet” in the mid-summer sky, but celebrates an unending love.
The legend that Tanabata is based upon has three main characters: Tentei, the Sky King, Orihime, his daughter and the weaver of his cloaks, and Hikoboshi, the cow herder for the heavens.
Orihime and Hikoboshi Meet
Orihime, the daughter of the Sky King, wove his clothing by the banks of the Heavenly River (the Milky Way). Because the Sky King loved her weaving so much, Orihime worked hard and industriously every day. However, because she worked so hard at her weaving, she had no time to meet anyone and so fall in love, which made her quite forlorn.
Tentei, The Sky King
Orihime and Hikoboshi separated by the Milky Way
Orihime and Hikoboshi together
Tales from the Mom-Side 