Japanese ascending effects

Japanese ascending effects - Kyoku-do

Here I am again talking about the beauty of Japanese fireworks. This time, about the ascending or rising effects applied to some shells. In "Western World" the main effect of this type we can see are the rising tails (read about it here). But in Japan, beyond that, they have also at least more 4 types of ascending effects: ascending flowers, comets, whistles, thunders (small salutes), etc.

Do you know the Japanese name for "ascending effects"? it's Kyoku-do.

Kyoku-do effects are attached to the shell in a way they ignite during the lift charge explosing and keep attached to the shell during the rising. There are some important details about the manufacture of these effects, specially for the ascending flowers and thunders. The flowers usually are attached nearby because they don't have sufficient power to destroy each other or the main shell during their explosion. But for the thunders, as they use a more powerful explosive (flash powder), this problem may exist so they are mounted with some distance from each other.

A pyrotechnician friend from Japan just sent me a picture of some shells having ascending flowers, look how beauty these pieces of art are:

kyoku-do

You can see a video of how this works:

Comments

Heavy smoke in Copacabana Fireworks Show

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is famous for it's huge and beautiful fireworks show every year. But last New Years Eve (2024 - 2025), many viewers were disappointed with the show because of a heavy smoke cloud that overshadowed the beauty of the spectacle right after the first 2 minutes. But what was the reason of so much smoke? We all know that almost any kind of firework cause lots of smoke. Many people think the problem was caused by the quality of the products, but the main reason for that was probably the high humidity rate. In Rio de Janeiro, the highest humidity rates occur between december and april. According to INMET (National Institute of Meteorology), the humidity at the moment of the show was around 89% , so this, along with an unfavorable wind, was the main reason for the problem. Below is a picture of the beautiful start of the show: But unfortunately some minutes later: Anyway, with lots of smoke or not, for us that love fireworks it's a...

Japanese vs Chinese Fireworks: A Tale of Two Traditions

The fireworks industries of Japan and China represent two distinct approaches to pyrotechnics, shaped by centuries of cultural heritage, technological innovation, and market dynamics. Historical Origins China is widely recognized as the birthplace of fireworks, with a history dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). In contrast, Japan adopted fireworks later, primarily during the Edo period (1603-1867), developing a unique aesthetic and technological approach. Manufacturing Approaches Chinese Fireworks Industry Dominates global production, accounting for approximately 90% of world fireworks manufacturing Characterized by large-scale, low-cost production Massive industrial clusters in provinces like Hunan and Guangdong Strong export-oriented manufacturing model Focuses on volume and economic efficiency Japanese Fireworks Industry Emphasizes precision, artistic quality, and aesthetic design Smaller-scale production with high-value specialty prod...

Pear format fireworks cake bombettes

Those days, because of the new years eve, I was remembering my old times (around 2003) when I have found a lot of unexploded (dud) Chinese fireworks cake bombettes. I am here describing them, because I want to find if they are still used today in some place of the world (if you know, please write in the comments). Basically they have a "pear" like format, I think about 1 inch in diameter and have no hemispheres. Inside, there were some black powder granules and stars mixed, wrapped in a piece of tissue paper and then with kraft paper with glue just in the last layers. The use was traditional Chinese time fuse. The effect was low noise (due to the black powder and also the low quantity of it) and colors I think was red, green and yellow. Below, we have 2 images of what I tried to describe above, a drawing and a photo of a Japanese salute report I have found that I think is very similar but not the same. If you know or have seen something similar, please tell me in the comments...

Fireworks Blog

Search This Blog