- Title: Japan: Annual Fireworks Display On The Banks Of The Sumida River
- Date: 25th July 1998
- Summary: Around 800 thousand people braved torrential rain on July 25 to attend Tokyo's annual fireworks display on the banks of the Sumida river. Originally an event held to signal the beginning of fishing season, fireworks have been held once a year on the Sumida River in Tokyo for nearly two centuries. For hundreds of years rivalling craftsmen have been displaying fireworks on this day, each trying to upstage the other in size, colour and variation. Their rivalry escalated over the years, bringing fireworks to such an artistic level that people outside of Tokyo started making the journey to the city just to see the fantastic fireworks. The task of producing the fireworks, however, is a feat rarely considered by the thousands of people who turn out to witness the event. Hosoya Enterprise, is one of Japan's oldest and most revered pyrotechnic manufacturers. Nestled in the hills of the Izu peninsula, Hosoya produces a variety of intricately crafted fireworks - all carefully made by hand. For safety reasons each worker sits alone in a small hut painstakingly packing together the ingredients which will finally result in a dazzling fireworks. While many of the traditional crafts in Japan are withering away with fewer and fewer young people joining the trade, the fireworks business is an exception. Toshiyuki Watanabe, a 27-year old craftsman at Hosoya Enterprise, says that there will always be young people attracted to the craft of fireworks making as long as there is a crowd that appreciates the art. Indeed, the Japanese love fireworks - so much so that they go to great lengths to get a good seat, waiting for hours before the event to ensure premium viewing positions. Women, and some men, dress up for the occasion in special summer kimonos, called yukatas. Although the Japanese rarely wear traditional dress, fireworks call for an exception. On this day, they did not seem to mind the discomfort of their unconventional clothes And for a brief while, those gathered on Tokyo's river-front were able to forget their woes and concentrate instead on the glorious summertime spectacle of colour and light which unfolded before them and which even the torrential rain could not spoil.
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- Location: JAPAN TOKYO RIVERS
- Reuters ID: LDL001295YFIF
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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- Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
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