Japanese festival celebrates tradition

National
Source:
The National, Friday July 8th, 2016

THE Tanabata (Star Festival) is an annual event celebrated in Japan which involves making wishes on colourful pieces of paper and hung  on bamboo trees.
To mark the event in Port Moresby, Yoko Matsumoto, the wife of Japanese Ambassador Morio Matsumoto, hosted an event which invited guests such as Linda Babao O’Neill.
The guests were given strips of papers which they wrote their wishes on.
The pieces of paper were hung on bamboo trees while the guests were entertained by the ambassador and his wife.
Yoko said the festival celebrated the reunion of two young lovers in the star world, based on a Chinese legend introduced to Japan 2000 years ago.
She said their ancestors thought that making and using ink with water drops on the leaves in the early morning would help enhance their calligraphy skills.