Tanabata July 7, 2009

Tanabata traces its origins to a legend about the Cowherd Star and the Weaver Star, lovers separated by the Milky Way, that are allowed to meet just once a year - on the seventh day of the seventh month. In Japan children and adults write their wishes on narrow strips of colored paper known as tanzaku, and hang them along with other paper ornaments, on bamboo branches placed in the backyards or entrances of their homes. Mirroring that tradition, visitors to the museum can write their own special wishes for the future and place them on Tanabata bamboo in the museum lobby.