Sendai Star Festival begins
The annual Star Festival started Saturday in earthquake- and tsunami-hit Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, with the aim of commemorating the disaster victims and marking a step toward reconstruction.
In the main commercial avenue of the city, some 3,000 green bamboo logs with colorful streamers and strips of paper were arranged in a row, and festival goers attach paper strips inscribed with wishes (tanzaku), origami, talismans and coloured threads.
The holding of the event was in doubt due to the disaster but the organizers wanted to encourage people in the ravaged areas by staging the festival, known as Tanabata in Japanese, which is said to be the only time when a pair of mythical lovers, represented by the stars Vega and Altair, who are separated by the Milky Way can meet each other.
During the three-day festival, the organizers expect the turnout to fall about 20 percent from usual years to some 1.75 million.
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