Science and artwork appear collectively to provide Japanese lore to lifestyle at Vancouver festival

A special presentation aims to carry an ancient Japanese legend about two star-crossed fans to daily life by combining science and folklore this B.C. Day extended weekend. 

The Tanabata Star Festival Demonstrate is coming to the HR MacMillan Area Centre on Aug. 4 from 7 p.m to 9:30 p.m and also to the Powell Street Pageant this Saturday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Vancouver-based artist and educator, Raymond Nakamura, who also writes for the Science World British Columbia and Science Borealis, will showcase his illustrations depicting the well-known story. 

“The illustrations are kind of cartoony with vibrant colors and I was seeking to capture the folky element of it,” he mentioned.

“The intriguing detail about Tanabata is that the tale is meant to choose place in the sky.”

Tanabata legend

Fuyubi Nakamura, assistant professor at the section of Asian reports at the College of British Columbia, said the word Tanabata literally interprets to the evening of the seventh thirty day period in Japanese. 

“So generally it is really celebrated on July 7, which is the seventh month in the Gregorian calendar,” she explained.

Even so, she included, thanks to the disparity in between the customarily utilised Lunar Solar calendar and the Gregorian, Tanabata is also noticed throughout August.

The day is marked to honour the union of two star-crossed fans, Hikoboshi, a cow herder and princess Orihime, a weaver and the daughter of the lord of the sky, who have been divided by the Milky Way.

“The story’s origin is Chinese in which the princess is supposed to represent the star Vega and the cow herder is the star Altair,” Nakamura said.

As the tale goes, when the two satisfied and fell in enjoy, they commenced to neglect their responsibilities. The princess stopped weaving and Hikoboshi dismissed the cows. Angered, princess Orihime’s father decided to punish them by barring the two lovers from seeing just about every other. 

“Ultimately, the king allowed the two to satisfy only at the time a year on the night of the seventh thirty day period.”

The digitally created artworks will be projected in opposition to the night sky on the internal floor of the planetarium’s dome, at the area centre’s theatre on Friday.

The up coming working day, the star demonstrate will be presented in a transportable inflatable planetarium for absolutely free at Oppenheimer Park as section of the Powell Road Competition.

The artworks will be showcased with narration by particle physicist Miho Wakai, who will be reciting the tale of Tanabata.

“The tale of Tanabata has been all around for a very long time and I grew up loving the Tanabata festivals,” claimed Wakai.

Confluence of science and fantasy

The two-working day star exhibit festival is developed to draw in a more youthful viewers. Wakai said she hopes the present gets young minds interested in astronomy. 

Aside from listening to the age-old story, attendees will also be equipped to consider a appear at the night time sky and observe the objects of the tale like the two stars Vega and Altair at the planetarium. 

“It really is a good way to carry men and women in with a wonderful straightforward tale and then lure their interest and describe the science portion,” she claimed. 

She will also be sharing areas of her investigate on dark make a difference, adopted by a Q&A after the exhibit.

Wakai works on an experiment known as Belle-II where scientists accelerate particles and collide them together in hopes of making darkish make any difference particles. 

Dim subject is one particular of the greatest mysteries in modern science these days, she explained.

It really is an invisible substance that does not interact with light. The universe contains 5 situations as a great deal dim make any difference than regular subject, she extra.

According to Nakamura, the artist, the show provides an opportunity to build an intersection in between artwork and astronomy, science and culture. 

“We may possibly have young young ones coming in to locate out about the folks tale and then there is this mysterious factor about darkish make any difference that they didn’t hope to hear about,” he reported.

“These form of cross-cultural ordeals are precious in opening your intellect to all sorts of choices.”