Tanabata Matsuri
2023/7/13
On July 7, the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston held a “Tanabata Matsuri” at Children’s Museum Houston. Tanabata is a Japanese festival celebrating the reunion of Orihime and Hikoboshi, two celestial lovers separated by the Milky Way who are able to meet only once a year. The event is co-hosted every year with Children's Museum Houston to introduce children and parents to Japanese culture through the celebration of the Tanabata Star Festival.
This year, the event took place on Tanabata day of July 7. The event featured booths for making decorations related to Tanabata, such as tanzaku (a wish written on colorful paper, hung on branches of bamboo), origami and kirigami (paper crafts made by folding and cutting), and participants produced collective art such as the magpie bridge formed by the individual origami birds. After each booth experience, we celebrated the children's achievement by stamping the festival booklet that had been distributed to participants. In addition, consulate staff provided a kamishibai (a traditional Japanese picture play) performance, and Kendama USA offered a kendama (Japanese cup-and-ball toy) show and experience booth. Approximately 1,000 families joined the event, making this year’s festival an especially wonderful opportunity for children and parents to experience Japan in a fun environment and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture.
*We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their cooperation in making this event happen.
Children's Museum Houston: Providing the venue
Japan-America Society of Houston: Providing event volunteers and support on the day of the event
Mr. Kunio Minami: Donation of bamboo grass
This year, the event took place on Tanabata day of July 7. The event featured booths for making decorations related to Tanabata, such as tanzaku (a wish written on colorful paper, hung on branches of bamboo), origami and kirigami (paper crafts made by folding and cutting), and participants produced collective art such as the magpie bridge formed by the individual origami birds. After each booth experience, we celebrated the children's achievement by stamping the festival booklet that had been distributed to participants. In addition, consulate staff provided a kamishibai (a traditional Japanese picture play) performance, and Kendama USA offered a kendama (Japanese cup-and-ball toy) show and experience booth. Approximately 1,000 families joined the event, making this year’s festival an especially wonderful opportunity for children and parents to experience Japan in a fun environment and to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture.
*We would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for their cooperation in making this event happen.
Children's Museum Houston: Providing the venue
Japan-America Society of Houston: Providing event volunteers and support on the day of the event
Mr. Kunio Minami: Donation of bamboo grass
