Saturday, 07/07/07, was Tanabata, a romantic holiday in which the star Vega, representing the weaver princess Orihime, and the star Altair, representing the cowherd prince Hikoboshi, who were in love before they died and were placed in the heavens at opposite ends of the sky, can cross the Milky Way and meet each other, as long as the sky is clear.

This is cruelly ironic, since the sky is virtually never clear in Japan on July 7th, as it’s in the rainy season. On the other hand, it must be clear somewhere–after all, this is an international festival, which we in Japan inherited from a Chinese legend. Not that logic should come into play in fairy tales…

Or should it? I’m reminded of an excellent book I read a couple of years ago, Bridge of Birds, by Barry Hughart, who wrote a series of three mystery/fantasy novels set in ancient historical/mythical China, called The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. Bridge of Birds is the first one and the only one I’ve read, and it’s the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi written as a mystery story. Great stuff, very exciting and funny.

In fact, you can read it for free here, or at least the first draft of it. You can also find an interview with the author there, and see why he only wrote three of the novels. I’m planning to track down that omnibus edition of all three of them.

Anyway, highest recommendations–if you find it, get it.