Granzella’s Tanabata Event
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
Japanese culture is extremely rich and full of stories. There are many myths and legends, with a wide variety of histories attached to them. Many festivals and rituals are attached to them and played out in Japan each year. The Tanabata Festival is one of these, and now you can celebrate it right here in Home, thanks to Granzella. Tanabata means, “evening of the seventh.”
Sendai Tanabata festival
Tanabata is the legend of two lovers separated by the Milky Way in space. They are called Orihime and Hikoboshi, celestial deities that are represented by the stars Vega and Altair in the night sky. There are in love, but only allowed to meet one night of the year, the seventh day of the seventh month according to the calendar. It is celebrated on various days in the months of July and August with large Tanabata festivals held in many places in Japan, mainly along shopping malls and streets, which are decorated with large, colorful streamers. The most famous Tanabata festival is held in Sendai from August 6 to August 8.
The tradition of this celebration started in 755 AD and was brought to Japan from China by the Empress Koken. It gained popularity with the people by the Edo period, which seems appropriate considering we have a typical Edo period village in our virtual world as well. It has evolved over the years into a tradition of writing wishes or poetry on small pieces of paper and attaching them to bamboo sticks, with other decorations sometimes added. These are then set afire or sent floating down a river around midnight or the next day.
There is a lovely yet sad story about the two lovers who are brought together and then separated by Orihime’s father, Tentei, referred to as the Sky King. Orihime sits by the banks of the Amanogawa (Milky Way), weaving beautiful cloth, and her father covets her work — but seeing she is sad because she hasn’t fallen in love, he lets Hikoboshi, a cow herder from the other side of the Amanogawa to meet her and they fall in love. But because of this they both abandon their work and Tentei gets angry and sends them to the opposite sides of the Milky Way. Orihime begs her father to let her see her husband again so he relents and allows them to meet once a year. Hence the festival.
Here in Home, Granzella has decided to create a short event honoring this traditional festival. They have made Glittering Sands Beach into a nighttime place and scattered stars all over that you can gather for rewards with a partner by becoming Orihime and Hikoboshi for a time and flying all over the skies there. In order to do this you must purchase an outfit for $2.49, male or female. There are separate hair, hand and foot pieces and a one-piece body suit, complete with built in wings. They are available in three different color combinations, purple/blue; orange/blue and orange/red.
I liked the concept here of becoming these literally star-crossed lovers, but the game lacks the ability to free fly. You have to fly a course laid out that you can’t deviate from, this makes it difficult to obtain enough of the blue stars to get the reward. It is fairly easy to get the green and red stars and just flying for the first time gives you a star head piece to wear with any hair you own. You can also play alone by picking either Orihime or Hikoboshi to fly with, but they wont help you gather the eight required stars to get any reward. Another strange aspect of the game is the ability to scream when you hit the X button. This seems to speed you up a bit and you can also roll while in flight which sprinkles a bit of fairy dust around you.
You get a choice of two different background music or no music at all, and you can choose to join or not join anyone who asks you.
The finish
The game is a lovely experience regardless of its flaws though. I had a wonderful time gliding among the stars and it was fun to see the beach from a different viewpoint. The space takes on a very different atmosphere in the night, though it would have been a nice touch for them to add a few fires along the beach for people to congregate around.
All in all, this is a short but sweet minigame and addition to Home. The rewards are nice and it has brought yet another little piece of Japan to our shores.
August 1st, 2013 by Burbie52 | 1 comment
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
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As a bit of a cultural note -- in the story that the festival celebrates, the method in which the lovers meet varies. The one I’m familiar with involves magpies that form a bridge, allowing Orihime and Hikoboshi to meet.