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#659422 01/29/11 06:17 PM
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 144
kismet2 Offline OP
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Jellyfish
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 144
One of my favorite Japanese myths is celebrated on Tanabata Matsuri, the July 7th festival:

Orihime (織姫 Weaving Princess?), daughter of the Tentei (天帝 Sky King, or the universe itself?), wove beautiful clothes by the bank of the Amanogawa (天の川 Milky Way, lit. "heavenly river"?). Her father loved the cloth that she wove and so she worked very hard every day to weave it. However, Orihime was sad that because of her hard work she could never meet and fall in love with anyone. Concerned about his daughter, Tentei arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi (彦星 Cow Herder Star?) (also referred to as Kengyuu (牽牛?)) who lived and worked on the other side of the Amanogawa. When the two met, they fell instantly in love with each other and married shortly thereafter. However, once married, Orihime no longer would weave cloth for Tentei and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to stray all over Heaven. In anger, Tentei separated the two lovers across the Amanogawa and forbade them to meet. Orihime became despondent at the loss of her husband and asked her father to let them meet again. Tentei was moved by his daughter�s tears and allowed the two to meet on the 7th day of the 7th month if she worked hard and finished her weaving. The first time they tried to meet, however, they found that they could not cross the river because there was no bridge. Orihime cried so much that a flock of magpies came and promised to make a bridge with their wings so that she could cross the river. It is said that if it rains on Tanabata, the magpies cannot come and the two lovers must wait until another year to meet.

I love it because it reminds me of my husband and me. When we met, we fell instantly in love and were inseparable. We had a hard time saying good bye each day to go to work and would often call in sick to stay together. It really felt like a year passed by each day we had to go our separate ways.

He said he dreamt about me when he was just a little boy and after the dreams stopped, he felt so lonely. It seemed like forever before we met later as adults.

Perhaps that is why the date of my birth is significant: July 7th.

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kismet2 #659591 01/30/11 08:20 PM
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 17,644
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I love that story. Thank you for sharing with us, Lori.

I have had great fun in researching and reading Japanese myths and folklore. I wrote an article quite some time ago about Tanuki and Mujina. My daughter-in-law is Japanese and I started getting into the folklore of her land when I met her. The article is at this link: Tanuki and Munina, Shapeshifters

DIL really enjoyed it, so did my son.

Last edited by Phyllis, Native American; 01/30/11 08:26 PM.

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