A is a traditional Japanese signal

rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

Summary

A ''ryūsei'' fuselage is made from either

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

softwood file:Pinus sylvestris wood ray section 1 beentree.jpg, Scots Pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main diff ...

or a section of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

, and it is propelled by the combustion of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

. The particular type of gunpowder used in ''ryūsei'' is formulated to burn slowly. ''Ryūsei'' are believed to have been developed by

reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...

primitive gunpowder rockets left behind by the defeated Yuan armies after the

Mongol invasions of Japan Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassaldom. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of mac ...

in the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Eu ...

. However, there is another theory that ''ryūsei'' were invented locally by Japanese

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s. Because of this, they are sometimes called . In the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

, ''ryūsei'' rockets were used as

smoke signal The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. It is a form of visual communication used over a long distance. In general smoke signals are used to transmit news, signal danger, or to gather people to a common area ...

s, and documents preserved at record the launch of a ''ryūsei'' in 1575. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, bans on private possession of gunpowder nearly caused the extinction of ''ryūsei''. After many petitions, gunpowder for ''ryūsei'' was finally legalized again in 1972.

''Ryūsei'' in later times

Chichibu is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,159 in 26,380 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Chichibu is in the westernmost part of Saitama. Unli ...

, a number of ''ryūsei'' from different areas of Japan are on display at the roadside station. In order to reduce the risk of a

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

in case of accidental explosion, modern workshops for manufacturing ''ryūsei'' are made of fireproof concrete and have no electricity. If the fuselage is not properly constructed and cannot withstand the force of the ignition, the rocket may explode on the launch scaffold in what is known as a . Because they are manufactured by amateurs, there are often cases of ''tsutsuppane'' and other launch failures. For this reason, when a launch is successful, it is customarily followed by a '' banzai'' shout. This type of rocket is mentioned in the metaphorical phrase, to , referring to something with an exciting beginning but an

anticlimactic The climax (from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word ''κλῖμαξ'', meaning "staircase" and "ladder") or turning point of a narrative, narrative work is its point of highest tension and drama, or it is the time when the action starts du ...

finish.

External links

''Rocket Body, Solid Fuel, Ryusei, Japanese Festival'' at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

References

{{authority control Japanese inventions Early rocketry Technology in Medieval Japan Gunpowder Pyrotechnics

Summary

''Ryūsei'' in later times

See also

External links

References