Saturday, July 18, 2009

Firework 花火(Hanabi)

Rainy season is over in Tokyo and hot summer began at last.

Firework is one of essential entertainment for us in summer season. A lot of firework festivals are held in July and August around many areas of Japan. These festivals usually take place near the waterside. Most traditional and biggest festival in Tokyo is Sumida River Firework Festival . It is held on July 25th this year.
Sumida river is located on east area in Tokyo. We call this area "Shitamachi" 下町. Shitamachi is historic place in Tokyo and a row of Japanese traditional houses subsist there.

A lot of people go to the big event every year and enjoy dynamic and beautiful fireworks. Hanabi competition of this festival is a feature. 10 Hanabi companies compete this year. Various and original rockets 打ち上げ花火 (Uchiage hanabi ) bloom like flower in the sky.
Wearing yukata 浴衣, kimono for summer, is Japanese style. Yukata is remarkable Japanese item for young people now.

Uchiage hanabi is gorgeous, in contrast, sparkler 線香花火(Senko hanabi) is very tiny and not gorgeous, however, I like the small sparks and sound. (線香 means incense stick. However, this hanabi has no smell.) When I was a child, I used to play Senko hanabi or small hanabi near my house.

Hanabi disappears soon. We can never see same beautiful hanabi in the sky. Hanabi teach us the present and moment is very important.
If you visit Japan in summer, I recommend to see Hanabi festival and try to play small hanabi.

No comments: