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Fireworks by Sumida river

Summer

A long sequence of fireworks is lighting up the dark night sky. People sits in awe on Sumida river banks while boats in various shapes and helicopters flying in circle take advantage of priviledged viewpoints for the show.

Notes

The Sumida River Fireworks Festival dates back roughly four hundred years to the Edo period. During a terrible famine in 1732, many people died of starvation. The following year, the eighth Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune held the first-ever Ryogoku River Fireworks Festival. This event was held to comfort the spirits of the deceased and pray that those living would be free from famine or other misfortunes in the future. This festival is considered to be the origin of the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.