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hanabi

In her message, Emma told me that she went to see fireworks in Kamakura and asked if I had ever seen fireworks in Japan.

I handwrote my reply in Japanese to say that I have not yet done so and that I want to experience them someday.

While writing, I learned that the Japanese word for fireworks is 花火 (はなび • hanabi). Broken down, 花 means "flower" and 火 means "fire". 花火 is literally "flower fire". The Japanese see fireworks as flowers in the form of fire, and I find that deeply poetic.

I had never thought of fireworks that way before, and learning this has changed the way I see them forever.

In my eyes, they are no longer just bright, colorful explosions in the night sky. Fireworks are flowers made of fire. Violent and yet ever so delicate, their ethereal beauty makes them seem almost otherworldly. Perhaps that is why they bloom for only a few fleeting seconds.

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