Senko hanabi ( 線香花火 ''senkō hanabi'' ) (
sparkler
A sparkler is a type of hand-held firework that burns slowly while emitting bright, intense colored flames, sparks, and other effects.
Sparklers are particularly popular with children. In the United Kingdom, a sparkler is often used by child ...
- literally: incense-stick fireworks) is a traditional
Japanese
firework
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices i ...
. Essays about them date back to at least 1927.
They are a thin shaft of twisted
tissue paper
Tissue paper or simply tissue is a lightweight paper or, light crêpe paper. Tissue can be made from recycled paper pulp on a paper machine.
Tissue paper is very versatile, and different kinds of tissue are made to best serve these purposes, whi ...
about 20 centimeters long with one end containing a few grains of a black
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 black powder composition consists of three basic chemicals:
potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and ni ...
,
sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...
, and
charcoal.
The pointed end is lit and held straight down, so that the flame is at the bottom. After a few seconds a glowing, molten
slag
Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/ base metals (by ...
will form. This is reportedly
potassium sulfide
Potassium sulfide is an inorganic compound with the formula K2 S. The colourless solid is rarely encountered, because it reacts readily with water, a reaction that affords potassium hydrosulfide (KSH) and potassium hydroxide (KOH). Most commonly ...
, which contains
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes ...
from the charcoal. The molten ball will ignite the second phase of the senko hanabi, silently spraying an array of delicate branching sparks with a range of up to .
They are ignited away from the wind and held with a steady hand, so that the delicate molten head does not drop and that the two phases of ignition are completed. Senko hanabi are included in packets of fireworks and are ignited last amongst other fireworks.
Senko hanabi are said to somehow
hypnotize the watcher into silence and to evoke ''
mono no aware'' (translated as "an empathy toward things," or "a sensitivity to ephemera"), a Japanese term describing a flash of sadness felt when reminded of the beauty and briefness of life. "The poignantly ephemeral has long been appreciated in Japan and is still felt in the quiet celebration of senko hanabi."
References
External links
Senko hanabi - beautiful Japanese sparklerimage of lit senko hanabi* Research Pap
* Where to buy in Japa
* {{YouTube, p=PL1a2HkcVbmAVW5LBBThCdHPD3BKDd03Tj, NightHawkInLight - Senko hanabi
Types of fireworks