Fire Flowers

Dedicate everything to one beautiful moment.
-- Yoichi Nomura, fireworks specialist

I couldn't sleep last night so I switched on the TV and was channel surfing when I found NHK again.

NHK IS BACK ON MY TV!!!!

I was so happy!

Wanting to sharpen my ears for Japanese, I stayed on to watch the short news programme in Nihongo after the English newscast.

Then this programme called Professionals came on.

They were featuring a fireworks specialist. What is it about Japan and their hanabi (fireworks or literally, fire flowers) anyways? I have watched two Japanese movies recently and fireworks played an important part in the story.



Though I could not understand a thing that was being said in the programme, I watched in fascination as they showed how a single firework is prepared. It looked like rocket science to me though the finished product looked like a coconut. Well, it's like a bomb with all these black pellets lined in several layers inside. The making of the black pellets is the crucial thing because these are the ones that set off those beautiful, colourful lights that we often watch in awe.

Frankly, I never realised that it is an intricate process. And dangerous too. Working in the factory could set off a major explosion, just ask those from Bulacan.

But man, Japanese hanabi is no small matter. It's an art itself and they consider these people artists. Who knows, it may even require the understanding of chemistry and physics to create those different effects.

They showed several types of fireworks from the wabi (loving fireworks) that resembles a weeping willow (the movie I watched described it as fireworks that seem to last for a long time), fireflies, a whole galaxy of stars, flower petals and all sorts you can imagine (I ran out of comparisons there). The shapes and colours that explode in the sky when people set off those fireworks display are by no means an accident that they happen to shape a heart for instance. They are part of the art and craft itself. And for only five seconds of delight, these people actually dedicate their lives to making hanabi.

The Japanese hold hanabi taikai or fireworks shows. These are staged along the country's riverbanks and people go there in droves, often dressed in yukata (cotton traditional robe). The most famous is the Great Sumida River Fireworks Show in Tokyo held in late July. The show features more than 20,000 colourful explosions and is broadcast nationwide.

Wah, wouldn't it be nice to be in Tokyo around that time?