The Fireworks Museum
May 9th, 2008 by Ian Priestlyphoto: Ian Priestly
This tiny museum contains displays with some English explanation. There is also a video which shows the process of fireworks being made. Although in Japanese only, the film is easy to follow and the images make Japanese language ability unnecessary. The museum celebrates the Sumida River Fireworks Festival—the biggest in Tokyo, and we learn something about the festival’s history.
Surprisingly, the origins are sad: the first festival was ordered by Yoshimono Tokugawa in 1737, as a means to offer condolences to the spirits of people who died in a famine that killed thousands.
The firework production process also goes back a long way, and we see how the gunpowder is made into pellets, which are then carefully arranged in containers to produce the various shapes that the fireworks form, such as chrysanthemums and hearts.
