With the Cardiff museum celebrating all things Japanese, they could not miss out on this festival. Tanabata is held on the 7th day of the 7th month on the 7th Luna moon. It celebrates the legend where the meeting of two deities lovers who can only meet once a year due to being separated by the milky way.
People celebrate it by writing wishes in the form of poems on pieces of paper and hanging them on bamboo trees. Once the day is over the trees are put out and burned to represent boats floating on the water. In the museum, they had some bamboo trees which gave you the opportunity to write your own wish.
There were several other events on offer in celebration of Japanese culture to sample too. You could try on a kimono if you were an adult or a child with some beautiful designs on the fabric. There was also a demonstration of martial arts as well a chance for children to have a go themselves. Certain things that we didn't realise existed was sushi demonstrations, robot display and a choir singing. I did how even have a go at some calligraphy, a traditional form of Japanese writing. There were very helpful ladies that would ask for your name, draw your name in Japanese and then you would copy. I was surprised at how easy it was, but this may have been because my name was pretty basic.
The one thing I wanted to see the most though was the taiko drumming. I'd seen videos of it advertised and was so excited to see the spectacle. The company which did the display was from Swansea and called Aber takio. Their display of traditional Japanese drumming was amazing, the sound echoed throughout the building. The effort they put in was spectacular, the sheer workout and happiness was admirable. Towards the end of the display, they gave you the opportunity to try it out yourself.
The number of things on display was spectacular, showing a representation of several aspects of Japanese culture. The only thing I was suggest for the museum is displaying times and the full line up on their website beforehand. I found the times for drumming on a facebook page, otherwise I may have missed it.