Fireworks – Hanabi

Hanabi means fireworks. The explosions of fireworks on summer nights have become one of the most traditional customs of the Japanese people. Hanabi Taikai 花火 is a Japanese festival held during the summer in various prefectures across the country. Originally used to ward off evil spirits, fireworks (Hanabi) have a long history in Japan.

Hundreds of fireworks festivals are held every year across the country, mostly during the summer holidays in July and August, attracting thousands of people. In Japan, fireworks are not usually used to celebrate the New Year, instead what we hear are the 108 bells of the Buddhist temple ritual ̈Joya no Kane ̈.

In 1731, a bad harvest and a nationwide epidemic took Japan by surprise and caused a large number of deaths. The government held a party near the Ryôgoku Bridge in Tokyo to honor the victims. To complement this event, they launched the fireworks (hanabi). Since then, fireworks have become a festival held every year and families get together to enjoy and socialize with friends.

After the Meiji era, the color of hanabi became more vivid thanks to the importation of various types of chemicals. The differences between Japanese and foreign hanabi are in form and structure. The one in Japan is shaped like a ball. The alien is cylindrical.

Currently, there are several types of fires, from hand-operated fires, in which people make movements themselves to produce effects (Tezutsu – hand-pipe fires), and spherical shields with various explosion patterns. Okazaki City manufactures and designs more than 70% of Japan’s fireworks. Brazil is considered the second largest fireworks producer in the world, after China.

The Japanese also take advantage of this day to wear their yutakas (summer kimonos), the festival also has stalls with drinks and typical food, but it is common for people to bring food and drinks for a picnic while waiting for the fireworks. And most of the time the fireworks display takes place near rivers and beaches.

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