Latest news with #Omagari
Yomiuri Shimbun
2 days ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
2025 Expo Osaka: 100 People Unable to Board Shuttle Bus at West Gate on Day of Record Number of Visitors Marked; Some Wait Until Past Midnight for a Taxi
OSAKA — The operator of the Osaka-Kansai Expo said Friday that on the evening of June 28, when a record number of visitors came to the event, about 100 people were unable to board the shuttle bus from the venue's West Gate to JR Sakurajima Station. Those who were not able to get on the bus left by taxi instead, but it was around 12:10 a.m., two hours after the venue closed for the night, before the last guests were able to leave. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, the operator of the Expo, is considering measures to prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future. That day saw a record 184,990 visitors to the Expo venue, partly because there was to be a fireworks display featuring famous Akita Prefecture's Omagari fireworks that evening. The fireworks show started around 7:50 p.m. and lasted for about five minutes, so many visitors returned home after 8 p.m.
Asahi Shimbun
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan's premier fireworks wow crowds at the Osaka Expo
OSAKA—The master pyrotechnicians behind the Omagari fireworks festival, Japan's most prestigious fireworks competition, lit up the night sky with their jaw-dropping creations at the Osaka Kansai Expo here on June 28. With the theme 'Gunpowder should be used for peace, not war,' the pyrotechnicians embedded the powerful message in their fireworks, sending it out to the world. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition announced that the number of expo visitors reached a record-high 177,000 (preliminary figure, excluding 18,000 staff and officials) that day. The overwhelming drawing power of the Omagari fireworks left an impression both at home and abroad. The Omagari fireworks festival, known as 'a fireworks display you must see at least once in your lifetime,' is considered the ultimate competition to determine Japan's top fireworks masters. The competitions are usually held in Daisen, Akita Prefecture. The festival's 100th anniversary event will be held in 2028. For the upcoming 97th event on Aug. 30 this year, the most expensive seats, 60,000 yen ($420) each, sold out online in just one minute. These seats are regarded as the most difficult fireworks tickets to obtain in Japan. The fireworks displayed at the expo on June 28 were launched by the Omagari fireworks cooperative association, which is composed of four local companies: Komatsu Fireworks Co., Kita-Nihon Hanabi Co., Wabiya Inc. and Hibikiya Omagari Hanabi Inc. Seventeen pyrotechnicians traveled more than 12 hours to the expo site in two trucks and two vans. This is the first time all the leading pyrotechnicians from Omagari have gathered and launched their fireworks in the Kansai region, and a massive crowd filled the venue to see their work. At 7:48 p.m. on June 28, following a signal flare, a breathtaking five-minute display of around 1,000 top-tier fireworks began. Four top pyrotechnicians showed off their masterworks in succession. Tadanobu Komatsu, 61, who won the prime minister's prize at last year's festival, stunned the audience with the highly technical 'Nobori Gin Ryu Goeshin Henka Giku' (Silver Rising Dragon Five-Core Transforming Chrysanthemum), a chrysanthemum-shaped firework that soars to the height of Tokyo Tower. Yoshikazu Konno, 61, fascinated the audience with his signature 'Happosaki' fireworks, which create an eight-petal blossom effect. The labor ministry named him a contemporary master craftsman in 2024, only the 10th person in the fireworks field to receive this title. Kazuyuki Kumegawa, 51, nicknamed the 'Wizard of Color,' also amazed spectators. A graduate of Osaka University of Arts, Kumegawa presented the 'Pastel Senrin Chrysanthemum,' a difficult piece requiring masterful color control. Kentaro Saito, 45, captivated the audience with a multicolor-changing 'gradation' effect, which is also gaining attention overseas. 'It was a great opportunity for visitors from around the world to experience the artistry and impact of Omagari fireworks. We hope many of those visitors will come to see the fireworks in their original setting of Omagari next time,' said Komatsu, who is also the Omagari fireworks cooperative association's chairman.
Asahi Shimbun
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Akita's Omagari fireworks to light up the sky over Osaka Expo venue
'Bibideba,' a display of fireworks jointly created by Komatsu Fireworks Co. and Wabiya Inc. for the autumn chapter of the Omagari fireworks festival, lights up the sky over Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Oct. 5, 2024. (Hideki Muroya) DAISEN, Akita Prefecture--Pyrotechnic artworks from the Omagari fireworks festival here will illuminate the sky over the 2025 Osaka Kansai Expo venue on June 28 for the enjoyment of attendees from around the world. It will be the first time for Daisen-based pyrotechnicians to team up to present their works in the Kansai region. The Omagari event, whose official name is the All-Japan National Fireworks Competition, is one of the country's top fireworks festivals. It is also famed as being the 'fireworks display you want to see at least once in your life.' Only pyrotechnicians who have achieved good results at fireworks contests held in Tsuchiura in Ibaraki Prefecture, Fukuroi in Shizuoka Prefecture, Yatsushiro in Kumamoto Prefecture and elsewhere can move on to participate in the Omagari event, which is believed to determine the country's top fireworks artist. The Omagari festival is held on the final Saturday in August every year, attracting about 700,000 visitors to the city with a population of one-10th of that figure. The 100th installment will be held in 2028. The Osaka Kansai Expo will host an event called the Japan Fireworks Expo for a total of eight times between April 26 and Oct. 8 during its run to display fireworks featured at famous contests. The highlight of the event is fireworks produced by the Omagari Hanabi Artistic Team, which is a cooperative association comprising four pyrotechnicians in Daisen. They include Tadanobu Komatsu, 61, who last summer received the prime minister's prize, the most prestigious award of the Omagari festival; Yoshikazu Konno, 61, who was recognized as a 'gendai no meiko' (contemporary master craftsman) by the labor ministry; Kentaro Saito, 45, who exports fireworks overseas; and Kazuyuki Kumekawa, 50, aka the 'wizard of colors.' Fireworks created in collaboration among the four craftsmen, which are the main feature of the Omagari festival, will be set off rapid fire over a period of about five minutes from the south side seawall of the venue on the evening of June 28. The artists intend to present fireworks displays to which they pour every ounce of their skills into, including the most difficult 'goeshin' firework consisting of five layers and the outermost circle; 'happosaki,' which shoots light rays in scarlet, blue, gold and other colors in a radial pattern from the center; the color-changing gradation; and 'senringiku,' which explodes with a countless number of small bursts. 'We are looking forward to the opportunity to promote the fireworks created in the snowy countryside of Omagari to the world,' Komatsu said.
