Free 2026 July Calendar Coloring Page: Tanabata (Star Festival)
Welcome to Coloring Planet! July in Japan is a special month marked by the beautiful and romantic festival of Tanabata (七夕), also known as the Star Festival. To celebrate, we’ve created a charming and educational July 2026 calendar coloring page that is completely free to download.
What is Tanabata (The Star Festival)?
Tanabata is a Japanese festival celebrated annually on July 7th. It has its roots in an ancient Chinese legend about two star-crossed lovers, Orihime (織姫) the weaver princess and Hikoboshi (彦星) the cowherd. The couple was separated by the powerful Sky King and only allowed to meet once a year on this night, but only if the skies are clear.
The space between them is represented by the Amanogawa (天の川), or the Milky Way, which you can see running down the right side of the coloring page, filled with shimmering stars.
Cultural Notes: Wishing on *Tanzaku*
One of the most famous and delightful traditions of Tanabata is writing wishes on small strips of paper called Tanzaku (短冊). People then hang these tanzaku on Sasa (笹), or bamboo branches, which you can see beautifully decorated on the left side of this coloring page. You can even see miniature versions of traditional decorations like paper kimonos and lanterns hanging with them. After coloring, you can write your own short wish inside one of the blank tanzaku strips!
It’s believed that any wish written on tanzaku on Tanabata night will come true.
Learn Japanese with this Calendar
This coloring page is not just for fun; it’s a great tool for language learners!
- Hiragana (ひらがな) Reading: We’ve included small hiragana readings (known as furigana) for the Japanese characters for the days of the week. This is an excellent way to practice reading Japanese.
- Japanese Days of the week:
- 日 (Nichibi) – Sunday (The ‘ni’ reading is short for nichiyobi)
- 月 (Getsubi) – Monday
- 火 (Kabi) – Tuesday
- 水 (Suibi) – Wednesday
- 木 (Mokubi) – Thursday
- 金 (Kinbi) – Friday
- 土 (Dobi) – Saturday
- Monthly Title: The top left clearly states: 2026, 7月 (Shichigatsu), July. You can see the small “gatsu” reading next to 7月.
Download this page, grab your favorite colored pencils, and immerse yourself in Japanese culture. Happy coloring and Tanabata!
(Find the free download link at the bottom of the page.)