A Stained-Glass Milky Way Inspired by Edo Kiriko

In Japan, July 7th is known as Tanabata, the Star Festival.

It is a day when people write their wishes on colorful strips of paper called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches. Streets, schools, shops, and homes are decorated with stars, paper ornaments, and gentle hopes for the future.

Tanabata is often described as a romantic festival, inspired by the legend of two stars: Orihime and Hikoboshi. They are said to meet only once a year, across the Milky Way, if the sky is clear.

But for me, Tanabata is not only about romance.

It is also about wishes, distance, light, and the quiet beauty of waiting.

This year, I wanted to express Tanabata through nerikiri, a traditional Japanese confection often used in tea ceremony. Nerikiri is made from sweet white bean paste and can be shaped into seasonal flowers, symbols, and scenes from nature.

My idea was not to create a typical star-shaped sweet.

Instead, I imagined a small piece of the Milky Way captured inside glass.

The design is inspired by Edo Kiriko, a traditional Japanese cut-glass craft known for its sharp geometric patterns and brilliant reflections. Edo Kiriko often uses deep blue, red, or clear glass, with delicate cuts that catch the light beautifully.

For this Tanabata nerikiri, I imagined shades of blue, lavender, and silver.

The surface has a geometric pattern, like stained glass or cut crystal. Tiny stars shine softly, as if they are reflected inside the glass. The Milky Way flows gently through the design, not as a literal river, but as a feeling — a path of light between two distant hearts.

I love the idea that traditional culture does not have to stay frozen in the past.

Wagashi, like many Japanese arts, changes with the seasons. It tells stories through color, texture, and silence. A single sweet can hold a flower, a moon, a memory, or a wish.

This Tanabata design is my small experiment:

Japanese wagashi
× Edo Kiriko
× the Milky Way
× a quiet wish under the stars

Tradition is not only something we preserve.
It is also something we continue to create.

Every season tells a new story.

And this one begins with a wish written under the Tanabata sky.