Tanzaku Competition

七夕 (Tanabata) is a Japanese summer festival based on an old story which tells of the annual reunion of two lovers in the Milky Way. The characters in the story represent two stars, Vega and Altair, and so it is also known as the ‘Star Festival’. The story involves a weaver princess and a cattle herder. In the story, they are allowed to meet only once a year, on July 7th, so many people celebrate their reunion on this day. 

The Tanabata Festival brings a splash of colour to public spaces across Japan as beautiful decorations go up on display. As part of the celebrations, it is a custom to write a wish on a coloured strip of paper called 短冊 (tanzaku) and hang it up on bamboo.

SFCC’s Japanese Club participated in a competition run by JTAN (Japanese Teachers Association of NSW) known as the “Tanzaku Contest”. Students had to design their own Tanzaku wishes that showed off both their knowledge of Japanese language and Japanese culture.

SFCC’s Japanese Club is proud to have won two prizes this year in the contest run by JTAN, including a Class Prize for outstanding displays of student work and an individual student prize. The amazing creations of the Japanese Club members can be seen here. The individual student prize was awarded to Shaurya G of Year 7 for his excellent use of Japanese language. Shaurya was awarded a certificate for his outstanding work, as well as a collection of Japanese prizes which were presented to him during the Middle Years Assembly in Week 6. His Tanzaku wish was as follows: “I wish for many things, for example, wealth, knowledge, peace, love, and a family, but I can’t have it all, so my biggest wish is to live my life as I please.” What an awesome wish to have! We thank Shaurya and all of the members of the Japanese Club for their hard work and participation in this competition.

Kind regards,
Ms Tooby and Mrs Kelleher
Classroom Teachers