You hear a lot about fireworks in Japan, especially in summer. You can see fireworks in many cities all over the Japan. We say it's not summer without fireworks - they are so important for us.
Since we just came back from the US and we started to live in Tokyo, we decided to go to Sumida River Fireworks, which is very famous in Japan. It was also a great opportunity to get together with my family and friends. 7 of us got together - 2 friends, 1 cousin, 2 sisters, and us. Since we had no idea where to find a good spot, we let my sisters lead the group. I was very prepared to walk a lot and to be in the crowd with no space to move around. They found a nice spot, which was a rooftop parking space above a supermarket. It wasn't very close to where the fireworks shooted, but it wasn't very crowded and we felt very comfortable sitting on the ground. We had lots of fun chatting and eating vendor food as well as watching fireworks.
We stopped at a coffee shop afterward so that we could wait till the train was less crowded. The owner there told us the origin of the Sumida River Fireworks. Almost 300 years ago, there was a big spread of disease in Tokyo and more than one-fouth of the population died. After that, the city tried to come up with something to bring people's life alive. They also wanted to pray for those who had died from the disease. Since then, it has become very popular. My friends said that since it costs lots of money to have this kind of fireworks, there has to be many sponsors. There weren't as many fireworks when the economy wasn't good and there weren't enough sponsors several years ago.
The picture was taken by my sister on her cellphone.
日本で、特に夏は、花火の事を良く聞きます。日本全国色々な所で花火が見られます。花火がなければ夏ではないというくらい、私たちにはとても大切な物です。
今回、私たちはアメリカから帰ってきたばかりで東京に住み始めたという事もあって、隅田川花火という日本でもとても有名な花火を見に行くことにしました。家族や友達と集まるいい機会でもあったので。友達2人、従姉妹１人、妹2人、そして私たちの総勢７人が集まりました。私たちはどんな所で見るのがいいのかさっぱり分からなかったので、場所取りなどは妹達に任せました。かなりたくさん歩いて、人ごみにもまれる事を予想していましたが、スーパーの屋上駐車場と言うとてもいい場所を見つけてくれました。花火をすごく間近で見たというわけではありませんでしたが、とてもゆったり座る事が出来ました。花火を見るだけでなく、話しに花が咲き、屋台の食べ物を食べたりととても楽しい思いをしました。
帰り道、電車の混みが引けるのを待つために、近くの喫茶店に入りました。そこのオーナーが隅田川花火の始まりを教えてくれました。３００年ほど前、江戸でコレラが広まって人口の４分の１が亡くなった事があったそうです。そのあとに地域の活気をつけるため、そして病気で亡くなった人を悔やむために、この花火が始まったのだそうです。それ以降、この花火はとても有名になったとか。友達は、こういった花火には費用がたくさんかかるため、毎年様々なスポンサーがつくと言っていました。しかし、景気があまり思わしくなかった時は、あまりスポンサーがつかず花火の数も少なかったそうです。
この写真は妹が携帯で撮ったものです
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