What Happens to the Tanabata Wishes?
Every year, on July 7th, in accordance with Tanabata, ANA sets up bamboo decorations at domestic and overseas airports. The airport staff organize a Tanabata event for passengers to write down their wishes on strips of paper which then decorate the bamboo.
Did you ever wonder where those wishes go afterwards?
Let’s find out the whereabouts of those wishes!
ANA held its 11th annual Tanabata event at 54 domestic airports and 37 overseas airports. This year we collected over 30,000 wishes from all over the world!
The strips of wishes were presented as offerings at the Ashikaga Orihime Shrine in a traditional otakiage (*1) ritual. Here they are burned and delivered to the heavens.
Ashikaga Orihime Shrine celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2017, and recently it has become popularly known as “the sacred place for lovers.” In May, they finished constructing “Enmusubi Nanairo Torii,” welcoming visitors with colorful toriis, which symbolize connections with good people, health, wisdom, life, education, career, and business. (*2)
The otakiage ritual is an effort that began due to the fact that Ashikaga Orihime Shrine has the name “Orihime,” the Japanese name of the Weaver Girl, symbolizing the star Vega from an old folktale. Moreover, the city of Ashikaga was a place where women had been active since ancient times in terms of education and culture.
This year’s otakiage was held on August 30th, and ANA made offerings with all the wishes gathered from all over the world.
There was also a performance by the Ashikaga Mandolin Club. The main shrine was beautifully illuminated, and the gentle burning flames and the harmonic melodies entranced the participants.
ANA Group will continue to wish for many people’s happiness and health, and will strive to contribute to a future full of dreams.
May all of your wishes come true!
For more information about the Tanabata event in July, please click below:
https://www.ana.co.jp/ana_news/en/2018/08/06/20180806-1.html
*1 Otakiage is a Shinto ritual to burn all lucky charms or wishes with a sacred fire and pray for their wishes to come true.
*2 Torii typically signifies the entrance to a shrine, the transition from the profane to the sacred. Enmusubi consists of two words -“en” and “musubi.” The word “en” refers to all connections that people make with others during a lifetime. “Musubi” means to tie or connect. “Enmusubi Nanairo Torii” literally translates to matchmaking seven colored torii.
