Japan’s Fiery Toyohashi Gion Festival

Alan Taylor
July 23, 2018
20 Photos
In Focus

In central Japan, near Mikawa Bay, the Toyohashi Gion Festival—during which local men set off large handheld fireworks as part of a Shinto ritual—has taken place annually for more than 350 years. According to the AFP photographer Yasuyoshi Chiba, “Every year, each male member of the shrine makes his own set of tezutsu hanabi from bamboo covered by straw ropes with a loaded gun and metal powder.” The festival brings together participants from several nearby towns, and this year Yasuyoshi Chiba visited Toyokawa and Toyohashi to photograph some of the spectacular scenes.

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A man holds his handmade tezutsu hanabi (handheld fireworks), dedicated to the Toyokawa Susanoo Shrine, as a part of a Shinto ritual in Toyokawa, Japan, on July 21, 2018. #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Men take part in a purification ceremony before dedicating fireworks to the Toyokawa Susanoo Shrine in Toyokawa on July 21, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A Shinto priest purifies tezutsu hanabi at the Yoshida Shrine as part of a Shinto ritual on the eve of the Toyohashi Gion Festival in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Men carry tezutsu hanabi, which will be purified before they are dedicated to the Yoshida Shrine, in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A man waits to take part in a purification ceremony before dedicating fireworks to the Yoshida Shrine as a part of a Shinto ritual in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Participants are splashed with a bucket of water as they rest before carrying a large cylinder of fireworks to the Yoshida Shrine in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A man walks with a bucket on his head while participants rest before carrying a large cylinder of fireworks to the Yoshida Shrine on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Participants carry a large fireworks cylinder before dedicating fireworks to the Yoshida Shrine as a part of a Shinto ritual in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Men holding their handmade tezutsu hanabi as a part of a Shinto ritual in Toyokawa on July 21, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Participants hold erupting tezutsu hanabi in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Sparks fly from tezutsu hanabi in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A man walks though a shower of sparks with his tezutsu hanabi in Toyokawa on July 21, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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People watch a fireworks display dedicated to the Yoshida Shrine in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A man performs on a large fireworks cylinder dedicated to the Toyokawa Susanoo Shrine in Toyokawa on July 21, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Men set off their tezutsu hanabi as part of a Shinto ritual in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A man holds his erupting tezutsu hanabi in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A tezutsu hanabi shoots sparks as part of a Shinto ritual in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Men set off their handmade tezutsu hanabi in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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Fireworks on the eve of the Toyohashi Gion Festival in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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A man stands under a shower of sparks, holdng his handmade tezutsu hanabi dedicated to the Yoshida Shrine as part of a Shinto ritual in Toyohashi on July 20, 2018 #

Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

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