Fireworks and Yamanashi
The audiovisual thrills of fireworks displays are enjoyed by young and old the world over, and Japan is certainly no exception. But for the people of the Yamanashi town of Ichikawa Daimon (now incorporated into the larger town of Ichikawa Misato), these dazzling displays are more than just a summer pastime: they are a centuries-old tradition.

It is said that the fireworks industry in Ichikawa Daimon had its start in the 16th Century, when Yamanashi warlord Takeda Shingen used gunpowder not only for smoke signals (which proved a helpful tool as his domain began to expand) but also as fireworks, incorporated into his army’s pre-deployment ceremonies. Ichikawa Daimon’s fireworks industry greatly developed under Shingen’s reign, and even after his passing, local manufacturers of the “Takeda Style” of fireworks were employed by the three honorable branches of the ruling Tokugawa clan. Seeing its industry truly flourish by the end of the 17th Century, Ichikawa Daimon was soon counted among the top three fireworks-producing areas of Edo-period Japan.

Fireworks also have a long history of spiritual significance in Japan, being incorporated into ceremonies honoring the deceased, such as in the summer Bon Festivals of certain areas. In Ichikawa Daimon it is the Shinmei Fireworks Festival that has been drawing the crowds for hundreds of years. Edo-period folksongs even sing, “In July once the Bon Festival has past/ We’ll meet in Ichikawa, where the fireworks blast.” The Shinmei Festival not only honors the Shinto deity of paper, Ame-no-Hiwashi-no-Mikoto, but also Ichikawa Jinzaemon, the Heian-period man who is credited with contributing to the development of the Japanese washi paper trade in the Ichikawa area.

Layers of washi paper, incidentally, used to form the protective outer shell of the finished firework, upon which the producer’s name was stamped by way of a hanko personal seal—personal seals being yet another specialty of the Ichikawa Misato area, together with washi and fireworks. Washi and hanko are no longer used in local fireworks production, but at the Marugoh Fire Works Company (who graciously provided The Grapevine with a tour of their factory and the accompanying photographs), making fireworks is still a hand-made affair. The fine-tuned mixing of the chemical compounds that will eventually give the firework its distinct color and spark, the insertion of the pellet-like pyrotechnic stars created from this mixture, the layering of the outer shell and attachment of the fuse—these are all done by skilled hands fostered in the centuries-old Ichikawa Daimon tradition. And as the awed and smiling faces of the audience at the Shinmei Fireworks Festival indicate, the fireworks trade in Ichikawa Daimon should continue for centuries to come.