From 1603 Japan was ruled by Tokugawa family's Shogunate government 1867. Thus Japan didn't have a big war for more than 260 years. People started using gunpowder for entertainments, such as fireworks, and the techniques was improved to aerial shell types.
In 1733, the 8th Shogun planned the first big fireworks event in mid-summer. It was to pray for the repose of the victims who died in a terrible famine and an epidemic in 1732. The Japanese word for fireworks is "Hanabi" and it actually means 'fire-flowers', so maybe the Shogun planned to offer flowers in the Sky for the deceased. The event was held on the opening day of swimming season at Sumida-River in Tokyo and since then the festival has been held every summer and now it is called “Sumida-River Fireworks Festival”.
Probably this annual fireworks event gave people an impression of "fireworks are summer seasonal stuff". Nowadays there are many annual fireworks festivals all over Japan, and many of them are held during summer. Also the spirit of fire-flowers, which is for prayers/wishes, have been carried down, too. So if you have a chance to visit some local fireworks festivals, you can find 'Offering Fireworks' in their written programs or announcements at the festivals. Of course nowadays we don't have any serious famine and epidemics, so people's prayers/wishes are usually more personal, such as 'for the sake of family member's health' and 'for some anniversaries'. People donate money and ask for setting off an offering fireworks. Although local fireworks festivals are much smaller in scale than famous major fireworks festivals, it's also nice to go. You can see flowers for people's prayers/wishes in the sky!
(The photos were taken at Hachioji Fireworks Festival in Hachioji city, Tokyo.)
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