Runaways Part 2

First Published: June, 1995 by Mirage Publishing

• Miyamoto Usagi
• Lady Hirano Kinuko
• Neko Ninja
• Neko Ninja
• Gunichi
• FIXME char-hirano

The Tanabata Festival, celebrated on July 7th, was one of the gosekku, or "five great festivals". It was first observed as a national event in 755 A.D.

The festival was based on a Chinese legend about the stars Verda (Shokujo) and Altair (Kengyu) in the Lyra and Aquila constellations. Shokujo was an accomplished weaver and daughter of a celestial king. She met Kengyu, a herder, by chance and they fell in love and married, much to the displeasure of Shokujo's father. They were so much in love that Shokujo neglected her weaving and Kengyu his herds, so the king separated them by running the Milky Way (Amanogawa: River of Heaven) between them. Magpies felt sympathetic to their sadness and once a year they stretch out their wings to form a bridge across Amanogawa, enabling the lovers to meet. However, if the night is rainy, the river will flood and the birds cannot form their bridge and the lovers must wait another year.

At festival time, everyone prayed for good weather. Special foods and sweets were prepared. Bamboo branches were set up in front of houses or shrines and decorated with tanzaku (narrow strips of paper on which love poems are written), fukinagashi (colored strips of paper representing weaving), tsuru (cranes representing long life), ami (nets for good fishing, hunting, bountiful harvests, etc.), kimono garments again representing the weaving arts), kinchaku (money pouch), paper stars and other ornaments.

There was also the Tanabata-odori or folk dances in which people danced in circles to the beat of drums.

It was primarily a girl's festival and young girls believe that if they observed Tanabata Matsuri earnestly, they would not only be granted a wonderful lovelife but also gain skill in weaving and sewing. In ancient times, there were no ready-to-wear clothing widely available and the women of each household made the clothing for the entire family. Mothers and daughters spent each evening sewing, taking great pride in their skill.

Today the most spectacular Tanabata celebrations are held in the city of Sendai on August 6-8 in keeping with the ancient lunar calendar. Sendai is in the northern part of the main island of Honshu in what was once Mutsu Province.

Besides the dozen or so books I used for art reference, I went to the following resources specifically for the Tanabata Matsuri: Matsuri: Festival by N. Araki and J. Horii covered five major festivals in detail; Quaint Customs and Manners of Japan by Mock Joya is a nifty book covering miscellaneous information about Japanese life; Festivals of Japan and A Look Into Japan, both published by the Japan Travel Bureau; and Dictionary of Japanese Culture by S. Kojima and G. Crane. But of course, my greatest resource is my mother, Teruko Sakai, who patiently answered all my questions, even those I had not thought to ask.

A takoyaki, which Usagi and Kinuko snacked on at the festival, is an octopus dumpling. It is usually sold at street stands and consists of wheat flour, bits of octopus (tako), green onions, chopped cabbage, dried fish flakes and ginger. It is dipped in a spicy sauce and eaten hot.

Gunichi also made a reference to "Enma's Hell". Enma (or Emma) is the king of Hades and the judge of the dead. His origins probably lie in India and came over to Japan along with Buddhism. Lafcadio Hearn describes an image of Enma in his book Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan as "a goblin shape with immense cavernous eyes. His mouth is widely open as if speaking in wrath, and his brows frown terribly. A long red beard descends upon his red breast. And on his head is a strangely shaped crown, a crown of black and gold, having three singular lobes...below it, upon the deep gold-rimmed black band, flames the mystic character signifying KING."

The kiku or chrysanthemum which Kinuko so admired is the national flower of Japan. It symbolizes peace, nobility and long life and is the emblem of the Imperial Court.

There are more than 5,000 varieties with different blossoming seasons but the ones flowering in the autumn are the most popular. They can be divided into two types, the first having a few large flowers and second with hundreds of small blossoms. The latter is used for making kiku-ningyo or chrysanthemum dolls.

Kiku-ningyo are living plants trained to form a life-size "doll" with blossoms of different colors used to create gorgeous costumes. They usually depict historical scenes and figures. These dolls are usually exhibited in autumn, particularly around early November when the blossoms are at their best.

Usagi remembers his ordeal with the princess Kinuko as her procession passes. After evading the Ninja, they realize much of their ordeals are similar.

They attend the Tanabata Matsuri festival, where they enjoy themselves, and begin to fall in love. She gives Usagi her favorite flower, a Kiku blossom, and they are about to kiss, when Usagi denies their passion for duty.

At that point, they are beset by the Neko Ninja under Shingen. Usagi holds them off until Gunichi arrives with his search party.

Afterwards, Usagi meets the Princess in the gardens privately, to take her up on the offer of being runaways. This time she refuses for duty, and they part ways.

In the present, her procession passes, and he walks away, wondering if she still remembers him and not noticing the Kiku blossom she drops from her carriage for him.

Last change: 19. May 2003

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Usagi Yojimbo, including all prominent characters featured in the stories and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Stan Sakai and Usagi Studios. Usagi Yojimbo is a registered trademark of Stan Sakai. Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in this publication either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric content, is coincidental.