Tezutsu-hanabi



Tezutsu-hanabi (手筒花火) is a type of traditional Japanese fireworks using a flamethrower-like handheld projector.

History
The chronicle Mikawa no kuni korō den (三河国古老伝) preserved at records the first use of fireworks in Mikawa in 1558. Pyrotechnic signal flares were used during the Sengoku period. The Kyūchū hisaku (宮中秘策) of 1741 states that tezutsu-hanabi were presented to Tokugawa Ieyasu at Edo Castle in 1613. It is believed that the gunnery corps of the Tokugawa clan brought back knowledge of pyrotechnics when they returned to Mikawa Province in the early 17th century. Ieyasu entrusted the with the mass production of gunpowder, and because of this, it is said, Mikawa became the home of many advances in pyrotechnics.

Characteristics of the tezutsu-hanabi projector
Tezutsu-hanabi are prepared by local amateurs who have obtained a license to do so. Structurally, the projector is a roughly 100-80 centimeter long cartridge made of mōsō bamboo reinforced with rope and packed with a mixture of slow-burning gunpowder and iron powder. When the fuse is lit, a jet of fire is released while the projector is held in a daunting pose. At the end of the performance, the projector is hefted and flipped around as the bottom explodes in a brief secondary ignition called a hane (はね). However, in some regions including Shizuoka, the hane may be less dramatic or absent altogether.