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  "description": "A quiet Kyoto tradition of reflection, renewal, and the wishes we carry into the second half of the year.",
  "path": "/journal/tanabata-the-wishes-we-tie-to-bamboo/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-03T03:39:41.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.hanayou.studio",
  "tags": [
    "Kyoto ikebana workshop"
  ],
  "textContent": "Hello flower lovers,\n\nHalf of the year has quietly slipped by.\n\nIn Kyoto, July often begins with two gentle reminders: to let go of what has gathered behind us, and to place a wish toward what comes next.\n\nThe other day, on our way home from my daughter's school, we came across a huge grass ring being prepared at Shiramine Shrine. Shrine workers were weaving a _chinowa_ , a large ring made from sacred grass.\n\nDuring the summer purification ritual, people walk through the chinowa to pray for good health and good fortune for the remaining six months of the year. I love this tradition because it asks us to pause, reflect on the past six months, and step into the second half of the year with renewed hope.\n\nThen, on July 7, Japan celebrates Tanabata, the Star Festival. People write wishes on colorful strips of paper and hang them on bamboo branches.\n\nBefore making a wish, there is also a quiet feeling of release. Summer begins with hopes for the future and a small act of renewal.\n\n## What Is Tanabata?\n\nTanabata, or the Star Festival, is celebrated in many parts of Japan on **July 7** , though some regions observe it later in summer. It is based on an ancient legend about two lovers, **Orihime** , the weaving princess, and **Hikoboshi** , the cowherd. Separated by the Milky Way, they are allowed to meet just once a year.\n\nWishes written on tanzaku and hung on bamboo for Tanabata.\n\nTo celebarate, people write their wishes on colorful paper strips called _tanzaku_ and hang them from bamboo branches. Streets, temples, and shrines are decorated with bamboo ornaments, creating one of Japan's most beautiful summer traditions.\n\nMore than simply making wishes, Tanabata gently reminds us to keep believing in our dreams, no matter how far away they may seem.\n\n## Shiramine Shrine and Komachi Odori\n\nAt Shiramine Shrine in Kyoto, Tanabata is marked on July 7 with shrine rites, kemari (a ball game), and the graceful **Komachi Odori** dance, performed by local girls.\n\nAfter visiting Shiramine Shrine, we stopped for sweets at Tsuruya Yoshinobu Cafe.\n\nThe dance is said to have roots in _Kikkoden_ , an imperial court ceremony for praying for skill in the arts. Having once faded away after the Meiji move of the capital to Tokyo, the dance was revived at Shiramine Shrine in 1962 and is now a summer tradition in the neighborhood.\n\n## Summer in Kyoto\n\nAs July approaches, excitement fills the city as everyone prepares for Kyoto's most famous celebration: the **Gion Festival**.\n\nEach neighborhood and shrine has its own traditions, decorations, and events, making this one of the most exciting times to experience Kyoto.\n\nSummer in Kyoto is famously hot and humid, but the city's devotion to its festivals feels stronger than the weather.\n\nIf you visit Kyoto in July, you will feel the energy, history, and community that make this season unforgettable.\n\nAsian lizard's tail, or hangesho, is one of the plants of early summer.\n\n## A Small Wish for the Season\n\nIn ikebana, we practice noticing what is already in front of us: the curve of a stem, the space around a leaf, the feeling of the season. Tanabata carries a similar lesson. Before we ask for something new, we make room for it.\n\nIf you are visiting Kyoto this summer and would like to slow down with flowers, our Kyoto ikebana workshop is a quiet hands-on way to meet the season.\n\nWhat wish would you tie to bamboo for the second half of the year?\n\nThank you for reading,\n\nRyoko",
  "title": "The Wishes We Tie to Bamboo",
  "updatedAt": "2026-07-03T03:39:41.806Z"
}