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Summer in Japan

© Lance Lindley

Summer is here full force, folks, and the evidence is all around us here in Japan. Local ko-gyaru (high school girls) have shed their tiny micro-skirts in favor of tiny micro-bikinis and are hitting the beaches with their pseudo-surfing boyfriends in ATVs that until a month ago had ski racks on the tops. (They still feature spare wheels on the back that say things like "Take a Grip of Steering!" though.) At night, the alcohol reek on the train has changed ever-so-slightly from hot sake to iced shochu and the high-powered salarymen's suits have gone from wool to linen, while the polyesters of the lower-ranking comb-over crowd have taken on brighter hues.

Throughout most of Japan, summer is hot and muggy. While in Tokyo, that primarily means you need to pause to empty the water from those de-humidifiers in your closet, in the rural areas it means it's time to pause from the hard work of farming to take part in several summer ceremonies. Of course, all of Japan was rural back when these ceremonies came into being, so you may find variations of them being practiced even in the big cities.

The first of the summer days worthy of mention - though it's already passed - is tanabata - the "Festival of the Star Weaver." Based on an ancient Chinese myth, tanabata refers to the legend of Orihime, the Princess-Weaver of the Stars, who fell in love with Hikoboshi, a common herdsboy. In punishment, the two were sent (by whom I do not know) to opposite sides of the Milky Way and are only allowed to meet on the one day each year, around July 7, when her star comes close enough to touch his. If you've been to Japan in July, you may have seen ornaments and strips of paper decorating sprigs of bamboo all around town on that day, as people believe wishes presented to the two celestial lovers will be granted during tanabata. Now, I have no problems with any of this somewhat fanciful story save one: if the herdsboy only sees the princess once a year, why on Earth do people think he's going to waste the day granting a zillion wishes for a bunch of mortals. Nope, I've seen too many videos based on the ol' "princess and the herdsboy" gimmick, and in all of them he no sooner announces his presence than a bad 70's soundtrack starts and the only wishes being granted are the herdsboy's.

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