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Writings on the fireworks in Yoshida (the former name of Toyohashi) have been found in the archives of Yoshida Shrine. While the scale of the festival was considered small, the archives state that various types of fireworks were fired, making it one of the longest running festivals in Japan. So long in fact, that the famous Tezutsu hand-held fireworks are thought to have originated at Yoshida Shrine.

Gunpowder was considered a weapon and was kept under strict control by the samurai during the Sengoku period, however peasants in the region were permitted to use and manufacture gunpowder for use in bonfires at Shrines. The use of gunpowder in the region has a long history as peasants were permitted to continue their tradition of using gunpowder during the rule of Tokugawa and subsequent lords loyal to him.

Fireworks in Yoshida only started to become as impressive as the current Gion Festival fireworks after the City was reformed during 1688 to 1704. Images of the fireworks display were even printed in the Edo to Kyoto Highway Picture Collection of 1797. The fireworks continued to gather popularity around the country, being praised by famous author Bakin Takizawa. The fireworks festival was also ranked alongside Hitachi Mito (present day Mito City in Ibaragi Prefecture) and Kai Omon (present day Ichikawa Omon Town in Yamanashi Prefecture) as the three greatest fireworks displays in Japan.

Yukichi Fukuzawa even went so far as to say in his writings that the Mikawa Toyohashi fireworks had achieved such a status within Japan that overseas visitors should see them. The pyrotechnics used in the Toyohashi fireworks were impressive even by world standards.

All around Yoshida were shrines dedicated to fireworks festivals in the same way as Yoshida Shrine. Utari Shrine in Kozakai Town, Hoi district and many other shrines in other districts competed to produce the best fireworks. Designs unique to certain areas became apparent, and the blue, red, and yellow fireworks that are so popular today all come from the works of firework manufacturers of the Toyohashi region. To this day, fireworks are still widely used in festivals and events, weddings and other ceremonies, proving that this region is the real home of fireworks.


Date: Held every year on the 3rd Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of July Venue: Yoshida Shrine

The festival held at Yoshida Shrine is written in many archives to be the birthplace for Tezutsu hand-held fireworks. A large number of sightseers from the city as well as neighboring areas come to witness the summer spectacle that Toyohashi is famous for. Some 350 Tezutsu hand-held fireworks, cannons, and 12,000 fireworks are fired in the evening.

Friday: Tezutsu hand-held fireworks
Saturday: Sky firework

http://www.gion.org/


Date: Held every year on the 2nd Saturday of September Venue: Toyohashi Park, Toyohashi Stadium and surrounding areas

Beginning with 250 Tezutsu hand-held fireworks, the Fire Festival presents a great opportunity to see some of the unique firework displays from the Toyohashi and Higashi Mikawa regions. The sight of 20m flames belching simultaneously from 28 Tezutsu hand-held fireworks is one of the most memorable moments of the festival.

http://www.toyohashi-cci.or.jp/kanko/honoo/top.html

Date: Held every year on the 1st Saturday and Sunday of October
Venue:
Hada Hachimangu

This festival dates back 1300 years and attracts over 5000 shrine goers from over 20 towns within Toyohashi. Evenings behold a vast display of over 800 hand-held and cannon type fireworks, making it one of the largest fireworks show in the Higashi Mikawa region.

The Giant Windmill
4 cannon type fireworks are fixed to timber frames 2m long in the shape of a windmill, atop a 5m high central pillar. The force of the fireworks rotates the frame to produce a giant fireworks windmill 20m in diameter.
Fireworks Net
Multiple fireworks set on a net zoom across when fired, while others twirl in a windmill type pattern on the net. Another design flies halfway across the net only to turn around and head back toward where it started, while yet another design sends rockets flying around the net after one another.