On the 14th August 2010 I was visiting Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki prefecture. As luck would have it this was the day that Japan’s entry into the Hanabi World Cup 2010 fireworks competition was being performed. It cost ¥500 for the ticket. Here are my photos and a five minute video of the event.
After the warm up fireworks display Japan’s entry into the competition began. The backdrop was a Kanko Maru Edo-Era sailing ship lit up with red lights.
The fireworks were choreographed with the Eastern sounding music as well as a bit of rock. Watch the video at the end of this post to hear the music.
The beginning of the display was more subtle than a ‘fire everything into the sky at once’ display that you might get on bonfire night.
The title of this display is Hanabi ぜよ.
Also in the competition are China, Portugal, the U.S.A. and France.
Hanabi is the Japanese word for fireworks. It translates as ‘flower fire’. This is the kanji for Hanabi: 花火. The first one ‘hana’ means flower 花, and the second one ‘bi’ means fire 火. If you look at the flower one you could imagine that it is a picture of some hanging flowers. And the second one looks a bit like a man flapping his arms around because he is on fire. Thinking of what the kanji look like makes them easier to remember.
Being a fireworks display in Japan everyone was very polite, and sat on the floor in rows. The spectators clapped and gasped at regular intervals, and there was lots of photo and video taking as well.
The finale was a massive ‘shoot as many fireworks into the sky at once’ ending. Always guaranteed to please the crowd.
Hanabi World Cup 2010 video
You can watch this in up to 480p if you change the settings on the embedded video.