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Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival
Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival is one of the oldest and most famous fireworks displays in Japan. This festival is held on the last Saturday of July (July 30th in 2016) around Sumida River which is between Ryogoku and Asakusa.
Its roots are said to lie in the Suijin Festival in 1733 dedicated to the water deity held to appease the souls of those who had died of starvation or plague. Since then, Fireworks Festival called Ryogoku Kawabiraki was held almost every year.
As the guilds of pyrotechnicians, Tamaya and Kagiya, were the two major rivals in this festival in the first half of the 19th century, people shout “Tamaya” and “Kagiya” even today when the fireworks are set off.
Although this festival ended in 1961, it was reinstated under a new name, Sumidagawa Hanabi Taikai (Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival) in 1978, and continues today. Around 1 million people come to see the festival every year.
Click here for details
http://sumidagawa-hanabi.com/index_eg.html
