Over 100 Japanese Firework Illustrations
Six catalogues dating from the late 19th century, digitised and made available online, compile a multitude of illustrations of fireworks.
Illustrated catalogue of day light. Courtesy of Yokohama City Central Library
Six catalogues dating from the late 19th century have been digitised and made available online and feature a multitude of sparkling firework illustrations. The burgeoning fireworks industry, determined to find its place in the foreign market, had to find a way to share its products despite the language barrier. Although over one hundred products were available, the language barrier made it impossible to describe the beauty and diversity of the fireworks. Illustrations were the appropriate solution to represent these luminous works of art. First used for commercial purposes, the catalogues are now perused purely for the pleasure of admiring the multitude of shapes born from the imagination of pyrotechnists.
Illustrated catalogue of garden & lawn pieces of the Hirayama Fireworks. Courtesy of Yokohama City Central Library
Illustrated catalogue of night bomb shells. Courtesy of Yokohama City Central Library
Illustrated catalogue of day light bomb shells. Courtesy of Yokohama City Central Library
Illustrated catalogue of day light. Courtesy of Yokohama City Central Library
Illustrated catalogue of day light. Courtesy of Yokohama City Central Library
TRENDING
-
The Tattoos that Marked the Criminals of the Edo Period
Traditional tattoos were strong signifiers; murderers had head tattoos, while theft might result in an arm tattoo.
-
Tokyo's Transgender Community of the 1970s Immortalised by Satomi Nihongi
In her series ‘'70S Tokyo TRANSGENDER’, the photographer presents a culture and an aesthetic that are situated on the margins of social norms.
-
Kohei Yoshiyuki, the Voyeur of Tokyo's Voyeurs
The reedition of the publication ‘The Park’ takes us on a night walk through the parks of Tokyo, out in full sight.
-
Modernology, Kon Wajiro's Science of Everyday Observation
Makeup, beard shape, organisation of cupboards and meeting places: all of these details decipher 1920s Tokyoites.
-
Hiroshi Nagai's Sun-Drenched Pop Paintings, an Ode to California
Through his colourful pieces, the painter transports viewers to the west coast of America as it was in the 1950s.
