HANABI-GOLD-12

Fireworks set off on summer nights are a summer tradition in Japan. Fireworks are brightly colored, but they are also ephemeral as they open for a moment and then disappear, so they are set off during Obon, the festival to commemorate the souls of our ancestors. In other words, fireworks symbolize the Japanese aesthetic sense of ``miyabi'' and ``mono no aware,'' and their ``transience'' highlights the beauty of ``elegance.''

I photograph fireworks using a technique called ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) in order to capture both their beauty and ephemerality at the same time. Large fireworks are made up of smaller fireworks, and when they shoot up into the sky they spread out in an instant. In normal photography, they appear as a single circle, but if you move the camera while shooting fireworks, you can recreate the delicate sparks and the way they disappear. By rotating and shaking the camera, you can express the ephemerality even more.

Even among fireworks, "GOLD" is a special color. Japan was once called the ``Land of Gold,'' and there are still many golden buildings covered in gold leaf, such as the Kinkaku-ji Temple. It is used to express wealth and prosperity, as well as to express reverence for sacred things.