Greetings from the World Association for Online Education (WAOE)
WAOE is a virtual educational association dispersed around the world but registered as a non-profit public benefit corporation in the State of California. Officers are in eight countries so far, with the President in Japan. WAOE is strongly committed to multiculturalism and multilingualism, while spreading out the benefits of Internet-based education. So Members' Meetings have been accompanied by seasonal cultural presentations from the northern and southern hemispheres. WAOE is pleased to feature the work of the Child Research Net (CRN) and continue this collaboration. Many thanks to Sakura Suzuki and her CRN colleagues. |
Greetings from the Child Research Net (CRN)
CRN is a non-profit internet-based organization that conducts research on young people in Japan and the world. The activities of CRN are conducted under the auspices of the Fukutake Educational Foundation, which is supported by Benesse Corporation in Tokyo. It is an honor for CRN to collaborate with the World Association for Online Education (WAOE). We would especially like to thank Prof. Steve McCarty, President of WAOE, for suggesting this collaboration: creating a joint web page, and Mr. Arun Tripathi, Multilingual Coordinator of WAOE, who has been a great friend of CRN. We would like to pursue the possibilities of examining children's issues on the Internet with WAOE. Experience our special features on Summer in Japan! |
Introduction to the Star Festival
In summer in Japan, lots of festivals or o-matsuri are held in communities, schools, and kindergartens all over the country. Even though traditional customs and events are now declining in popularity, many children still enjoy these special occasions. Tanabata or the Star Festival is a festival that is celebrated in summer, and it is often one of the memories that people have of childhood, since it is a time that parents and children spend together. Tanabata is based on the legend of Altair, the herdsman, and Vega, the Weaver. These two lovers are separated by the Milky Way and can only meet once a year, in summer, when as two stars in the sky, they appear to move close together. There are different times and ways of celebrating the festival, depending on the area. The Child Research Net wondered if children today regarded Tanabata in a different way from children thirty years ago. Our staff asked approximately twenty people about it and what it meant to them. Here are some of their interesting replies translated into English. |
How do children and former children regard Tanabata?
- I am looking forward to the Tanabata festival at kindergarten. Tanabata is the day when you write your wish on a piece of paper hanging from a bamboo branch. My mother asked me what my wish was. I want to be a ninja. (six-year old boy)
- I remember celebrating Tanabata at home with a decorated bamboo tree when I was in kindergarten, but when I went to the Tanabata festival in Hiratsuka city when I was nine, I was surprised to see so many huge decorated bamboo trees. (male in his 40s)
(CRN note: The Hiratsuka Tanabata festival is a well-known city-supported festival, which holds a contest for unique and beautiful decorations)
- When I was a kid, I used to go to the river in the neighborhood and float decorated bamboo trees down the river. Thinking about the environment, we should not have done this, but it was the custom in the 1960s in Tokyo. After I became a mother, I felt guilty about throwing away the decorated bamboo trees that the children had made. My most memorable experience of Tanabata was one summer four years ago when I saw the real Milky Way at a campsite in the mountains. It was impressive to see the real Milky Way since it is difficult to observe the stars in the city now. (woman in her 40s)
- On Tanabata at kindergarten, girls can wear yukata (Japanese traditional summer kimono) and I was very happy about that. I made lots of decorations for bamboo trees. I felt sad that we didn't celebrate Tanabata at elementary school. (girl in the 3rd grade)
- On Tanabata, I remember singing the "Tanabata Song." I wrote my wish and hung it from a bamboo tree, but I don't do this any more. (boy in the 7th grade)
- When I was a child, I remember celebrating Tanabata at school. Now I am interested in what my children will wish for. (man in his 30s)
- As a mother of two infants, Tanabata is a wonderful opportunity to spend time with my children, talking about the legend of Tanabata, watching the night sky together to look for the Milky Way, and wondering if the two stars will be able to meet. (woman in her 40s)
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Links on Tanabata
Discover more on Tanabata from the URLs below on this page. |
Bilingual Haiku Scroll
WAOE President and Japanologist Steve McCarty has published many haiku poems in Japanese and English. One of them is about Tanabata. The Japanese version, romanized below from the original Chinese and Japanese characters, is 5-7-5 syllables. Then follows the English version of the same haiku poem: |
Tanabata ya
Nozomi o noseru
Sasa no fune
Wishes riding
A bamboo boat
To the stars |
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| For some philosophy of what constitutes real haiku, along with a few Japanese-English haiku for each season, see the Bilingual Haiku Scroll . |
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Poster Sessions and Dancing Dialogs
