White Tanabata Rabbit

Tanabata, when wishes are written on strips of colored paper (tanzaku) resembling very narrow postcards. Tanabata celebrates the annual attempt for separated weaver Orihime and her cowherd husband Hikoboshi to cross the Milky Way to meet. In simpler times girls wished for better sewing skills and boys might wish for better handwriting. I guess the sewing skills wish was inspired by weaver Orihime but I am wondering how better handwriting might improve the life of cowherds like Hikoboshi." Contemporary thoughtful and odder wishes: "I wish it would never rain on Tanabata so Orihime and Hikoboshi could have more time together.” Or “I wish I had a cat the size of a horse I could ride on.”

Tanabata, Pegasus and Laputa

An exchange student rewrites a Japanese myth…

Eiko: July 7 is Tanabata.

Starlight: Tana – what?

Eiko: Orihime, the WeaverPrincess and Hikoboshi, the CowHerderStar, were married. There was a leadup to this but we'll skip that. Once married they got a bit lazy, weaving and cow herding. Orihime's father became annoyed and stuck them on opposite sides of the Milky Way and allowed them to meet only once a year, and only then if they had done their work diligently for a year. So every July 7 they can cross the Milky Way and meet on a bridge made of wings of magpies flying together.

Starlight: MAGPIE wings?

Eiko: Sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? Maybe these days they might use FaceBook, or Skype each other?

Starlight: Out of keeping with the original story. How about… (thinks) How about that winged horse, Pegasus, flies down and carries them to some meeting place?

Eiko: I know. Up to Laputa, Castle in the Sky.

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Voice-over

Guest Blogger “Starlight” came up with this incredibly credible contemporary ending: Pegasus flying the pair to Laputa for their annual holiday. All the more apt for a Milky Way location since Pegasus is a star constellation. And the link to Miyazaki Hayao’s Laputa revitalizes Tanabata into a modern myth.

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