Omagari in Akita Prefecture will hold the 83rd edition of the Omagari fireworks display this year. Being recognized as one of the most prominent fireworks displays in Japan, it attracted an audience of 650,000 to the Omagari district - which only has a population of roughly 40,000 people - in Daisen City last year.
The official name of the fireworks display in Omagari is the "Zenkoku Hanabi Kyogi Taikai (National Fireworks Competition)." In the competition, a number of fireworks craftsmen selected from all over the country compete in three categories: "hiru-hanabi (day fireworks)," "10-go warimono (shakudama, which are 12-inch round shell fireworks)" and "sozo-hanabi (creative fireworks)." Only those fireworks craftsmen who have enough skill to make shakudama shells with a central pattern - a skill that requires a great deal of ability - are allowed to participate.
Omagari was the first competition in Japan to incorporate "sozo-hanabi (creative fireworks)" as one of the categories for its evening display in 1963. It is said to have been born from the efforts of the fireworks craftsmen and the question "Why are all fireworks round?" that occurred to the Chairman of the competition at the time. In this category, "katamono (pattern-shaped)" fireworks that form various kinds of shapes such as letters of the alphabet, a pair of glasses or animation characters created as a result of thinking outside the box decorate the sky. In recent years, fireworks displays are sometimes orchestrated to music, offering greater enjoyment to the audience.
Although fireworks have an image of being an evening event, a hiru-hanabi (day fireworks) competition is held in daylight using enryu (smoke dragon) and warimono (round shell) fireworks. Instead of using light in the night sky, enryu (smoke dragon) fireworks form patterns with colorful smoke (red, yellow, green, purple, etc.) and they look like beautiful "suiboku-ga (traditional monochrome ink painting)" painted in the sky. Warimono (round shell) fireworks, on the other hand, are highly advanced fireworks that use very intricate techniques and look the same as night fireworks.
The fireworks overwhelm the enormous 650,000-strong audience that gathers at the venues on the Omonogawa River and in the Riverside Sports Park. The audience enjoys the atmosphere of the event, becoming intoxicated by the sounds that rattle their bones as the colorful flames dance in the night sky. They watch as the fireworks rise into the sky one after another in rhythm to the music as if alive, reflecting on the surface of the river as they explode. The masterpieces and passion of the fireworks craftsmen will once again produce an exquisite evening this year.
Omagari Fireworks Official Website http://www.obako.or.jp/kaigisho/01_hanabi/01_hanabi.htm
Photos provided by
Omagari Chamaber of Commerce
