By: Alex
To celebrate Tanabata (Star Festival), on the evening of last Sunday (July 7), 70,000 LED lights called “Prayer Stars” (いのりstar) were released along a section of the Okawa River near Osaka Castle in Japan. Emitting a serene blue glow, the lights drifted along the river, creating a celestial Milky Way on the ground.
▲ (Photo by yusei_view @IG)
The event, now in its tenth year and known as the “Reiwa Osaka Galaxy Legend” (令和 Osaka 天の川?说), is held annually on the evening of July 7 along the Okawa River between Tenma Bridge and Kitahama in Osaka City, unless weather conditions such as rain force a cancellation. Each “Prayer Star” used in the event has a diameter of 8.5 cm, and all lights released into the river are collected and reused by staff afterward.
▲ (Photo by wasabitool @IG)
Japan’s Tanabata festivals originated from China. Due to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, most regions in Japan now celebrate Tanabata on July 7 of the Western calendar. The most traditional and flamboyant celebration is the Sendai Tanabata Festival, which takes place from August 6 to 8. Tanabata is a day for making wishes—people write their desires on long, narrow strips of paper and tie them to bamboo branches, symbolically sending their hopes to the heavens with the upward-reaching bamboo. In addition, the festival features parades and fireworks celebrations.
▲ (Photo by tabokin @IG)
▲ (Photo by yoshiyuki1030 @IG)
▲ (Photo by amano.jun @IG)
▲ (Photo by k_aug23 @IG)
▲ (Photo by wasabitool @IG)
▲ (Photo by fukuchan_foto @IG)
▲ (Photo by ryobit @IG)
▲ (Photo by hase0530 @IG)
Source: The Sankei Shimbun, Advance Japan