Nagaoka: fireworks as a prayer

Nagaoka's fireworks are traced back to a shrine festival at Senju-machi in 1879. In 1926 the city succeeded in launching its first shōsanjakudama — the great three-shaku shell that became the emblem of Nagaoka fireworks.

On August 1, 1945, an air raid reduced some eighty percent of the city to ashes and took 1,489 lives. A year later, on the same date, the city held a festival for its recovery; from 1948 onward August 1 became a day of remembrance for the victims, with fireworks on August 2 and 3.

In 2005, the 'Phoenix' fireworks were launched as a prayer for recovery from the Chūetsu earthquake of the previous year and as thanks for support from across Japan.

The Nagaoka Fireworks Foundation describes the display as fireworks that pray for the repose of souls, for recovery and for peace. For the few seconds that the sky is lit, a city's memory is passed on — that, too, is what a summer night in Nagaoka holds.