Star Festival rites that took place on the 7th day of the 7th month. Originating as far back as Han dynasty China, these rituals took place at night while staying up to watch whether the Weaving Girl and the Oxherd Boy could cross the Milky Way for their annual tryst. Women wished for excellence in sewing and embroidery by trying to thread a needle against the light of the moon. Five color cloths and thread, needles of different color metals, and food were set out along with string instruments during this night of revelry. In Japan the Chinese kikkōden rituals complemented native celebrations taking place on the same night, tanabata, that included ceremonial sumo, feasts, and poetry contests. Many poems in the Nara period Man’yōshū anthology reference tanabata.