Chikugo River Fireworks Festival

The Chikugogawa Fireworks Festival is a fireworks display held every year on August 5 in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture. Staged on the riverbed of the Chikugo River, the largest river in Kyushu, it colors the night sky with about eighteen thousand fireworks in a typical year and draws more than 450,000 spectators annually, boasting a scale among the largest in western Japan. Among fireworks displays held solely within Fukuoka Prefecture, it is the only one whose number of fireworks exceeds ten thousand.

This display is launched as a dedicatory fireworks offering to the summer grand festival of Suitengu, the head shrine of all Suitengu shrines nationwide, located in Kurume. With a history of more than 350 years, its highlights include grand starmines with a clear dramatic structure, large-scale set-piece fireworks such as the Niagara, and enormous shakudama shells that bloom into great flowers in the night sky. Bustling with couples and families in summer kimono, it has become a signature scene of summer in Kurume.

History and Origins

The origins of the Chikugogawa Fireworks Festival reach back to 1650 (Keian 3). When Arima Tadayori, the second lord of the Kurume domain, donated a shrine building to the grounds of Suitengu, fireworks are said to have been dedicated at the celebration marking its completion, and this was the beginning of the display. Suitengu is a shrine that attracts nationwide faith as a deity of safe childbirth, child-rearing, and protection from water accidents, and the tradition of offering fireworks to its summer grand festival has been handed down for more than 350 years.

Long beloved under the name Suitengu Dedicatory Fireworks Display, this event continued while overcoming nine cancellations due to disturbances and wars, and in 1965 (Showa 40) it took its present name, the Chikugogawa Fireworks Festival. The history of a display that began with a dedication by an Edo-period domain lord and was preserved by the people of Kurume through the modern and contemporary eras supports the weight of this event.

In 1972 (Showa 47), the Kurume Water Festival, which unified the various annual grand festivals of the Kurume city area, began in conjunction with this fireworks display, and the display came to bear also the meaning of a finale to that festival. Yet the Chikugogawa Fireworks Festival is fundamentally a dedicatory fireworks offering to the summer grand festival of Suitengu, and locally it is clearly distinguished as an event with an origin historically separate from the Kurume Water Festival.

The form of the venue has also changed with the times. Formerly the fireworks were launched only from the riverbed in front of Suitengu, but learning from a crowd accident at a fireworks display in 2001, from 2004 a dispersed launch was introduced together with the Sasayama venue in front of Kurume Castle, and the former venue was named the Kyomachi venue. From the following year, the city of Tosu on the opposite bank and others also joined, developing into a display held at multiple venues that makes use of the vast riverbed of the Chikugo River.

Highlights

About 18,000 fireworks, among the largest in western Japan　The greatest appeal of the Chikugogawa Fireworks Festival is its overwhelming scale. In a typical year about eighteen thousand fireworks (the scale varies by year) are launched from the broad riverbed of the Chikugo River, the largest river in Kyushu, the only display within Fukuoka Prefecture alone to exceed ten thousand. The feast of light that fills the entire sky boasts a scale among the largest in western Japan.

Starmines with dramatic structure　The starmine, a rapid-fire volley of fireworks, is one of the highlights of this display. Characterized not by mere rapid firing but by excellent staging that unfolds with a clear dramatic structure, the rhythm and force woven by the fireworks launched one after another never cease to draw the spectators in.

The Niagara and giant shakudama　Large-scale set-piece fireworks that make use of the surface of the Chikugo River are also a highlight. The Niagara, in which light cascades down like a waterfall, and the enormous shakudama shells that bloom into great flowers in the night sky, create dynamic scenes possible only on a broad riverbed. At the Sasayama venue, the launching of shakudama begins near midnight, heightening the climax.

Multiple venues along the vast Chikugo riverbed　This display is launched in dispersed fashion at several venues, including Kyomachi, Sasayama, Komorino, and Nagatoishi. Thanks to a layout that makes use of the broad riverbed of the Chikugo River, movement on foot between venues is possible, and one can enjoy the fireworks from different angles at each location. In the open suburbs free of obstacles, the fireworks can be viewed even while standing.

The tradition of prayer as an offering to Suitengu　At the foundation of the gorgeous fireworks lies the tradition of prayer as a dedication to the summer grand festival of Suitengu. Not a mere tourist event, the fact that it is a dedicatory fireworks offering originating in the celebration of the completion of a shrine building donated by an Edo-period domain lord gives this display a historical weight found nowhere else.

The bustle of a summer festival lined with stalls　More than four hundred stalls line the venues, and shops of Kurume's local gourmet fare also appear, coloring the event. Couples and families in summer kimono come and go, and one can fully enjoy the bustle of a summer festival together with the fireworks. A lively scene symbolic of a summer night in Kurume unfolds.

Event Information

• Location: Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture (some venues on the Saga side)
• Venue: The Chikugo River riverbed (Kyomachi venue, Sasayama venue, and several others)
• Dates: Usually August 5 (regardless of the day of the week; in some years postponed on alternate days in case of rain)
• Number of fireworks: About 18,000 in a typical year (the scale varies by year)
• Access: On foot from JR Kurume Station; special shuttle bus from Nishitetsu Kurume Station
• Admission: Free to view. No parking is provided, and arrival by public transport is strongly recommended. Note that dates, venues, and scale may change.

Around the Area

Suitengu, at the center of the display's origins, is located in Seno-shita, Kurume City, and is the head shrine of all Suitengu shrines nationwide. Attracting nationwide faith as a deity of safe childbirth, child-rearing, and protection from water accidents, its precincts are a place worth visiting to trace the origins of the fireworks display. During the summer grand festival it bustles with many worshippers, conveying the history of Kurume together with the Chikugo River.

Kurume City is a core city in southern Fukuoka Prefecture, known as the birthplace of the rubber industry that produced companies such as Bridgestone and Moonstar. It is rich in local gourmet fare such as Kurume ramen and Kurume yakitori, a taste of which can be had at the local food stalls that appear at the fireworks display. The townscape, blending its history as a castle town with modern industry, is a great attraction.

The Chikugo River, bearing the nickname Chikushi Jiro, is the largest river in Kyushu, and rich nature and history spread along its basin. Scattered around Kurume are attractions such as the ruins of Kurume Castle and Kora Taisha Shrine, and together with viewing the fireworks one can enjoy a journey touring the majestic Chikugo River and the history and culture of the Chikugo region.

Related Information

• Month: August (summer)
• Location: Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture (Kyushu region)
• Origin: A dedicatory fireworks display beginning in 1650 (Keian 3) at the celebration of the completion of a shrine building donated to Suitengu by the Kurume lord Arima Tadayori
• Standing: A dedicatory fireworks offering to the summer grand festival of Suitengu (a history of more than 350 years)
• Scale: About 18,000 fireworks and more than 450,000 spectators in a typical year, among the largest in western Japan
• Former name: Suitengu Dedicatory Fireworks Display (until 1964)

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