Heguri Fireworks

Festival highlights

Highlights include traditional designs such as willow, peacock, Akaboshi, yellow smoke, and red smoke; danbiraki with five to thirty-five tiers; and fukuro-mono such as lanterns and balls among willow branches.

Star-shaped fireworks, single-shot fireworks, and light-emitting fireworks are also mentioned; fireworks in different colors and shapes have been passed down.

In the past, dozens of people handled a giant fireworks tube made using a large tree. Today, commercially made fireworks are used, and the launch tube from that time remains on the grounds of Heguri Tenjin Shrine.

The colors of Heguri, painted across the night sky by fireworks and memories of the festival passed down through generations

What to expect

During the festival, mikoshi processions are held by ujiko from each district. It is said that the mikoshi circles the Tenjin Shrine sanctuary 3 times, passes through the torii, and heads to the temporary shrine.

The portable festival floats, said to have originated toward the end of the Edo period, have also been passed down in a form where they are offered alongside the mikoshi to the temporary shrine.

Heguri hayashi is performed during the festival, and fireworks have been set off in conjunction with the Tenjin Shrine festival.

Location and access

Venue and address

Heguri Tenjin Shrine, 207 Hegurinaka, Minamiboso City

Train and bus

JR Uchibo Line: 15 minutes by bus from Iwai Station, then a 2-minute walk from Hegurigo bus stop

By car

Pass through the torii and turn right partway along the sando to reach the parking lot.

Parking

Yes

Address 207 Hegurinaka, Minamiboso City, Chiba Prefecture

Dates and season

Season

Every year on October 24

Frequency

Every year

Accommodation and hotels PR

Nearby attractions

Shojoji Temple is right beside the grounds of Heguri Tenjin Shrine, on the right.

Follow the sando to the left to reach the trailhead for Mount Iyoga-dake. Nearby attractions include Nihonji Temple (Mount Nokogiri) and the roadside station Michi-no-Eki Miyoshimura Hinanosato.

Views and sceneryMinamiboso City

野島埼灯台

千葉県南房総市にある灯台

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Photo and data sources×

写真：ガウス at Japanese Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Facility data source

Attractions in the same municipality. Check each attraction’s official website for travel distances from the venue and current opening information.

Origins and History of Heguri Fireworks

Heguri fireworks are said to have been set off for about 200 years. Their origins are attributed to the transmission of the methods for making and launching fireworks in Horeki 2 (1752).

The rivalry developed into a competition between Shimomura and Nakamura, and secrets such as gunpowder formulas were passed down to the eldest son as closely guarded family knowledge.

In the past, a wooden tube about 7 meters long and a large tree were used; fireworks production has now ceased, and commercially made fireworks are used instead.

Official information

Heguri fireworks are listed in Chiba Prefecture’s “National and Prefectural Recorded Selection List” as an intangible folk cultural property selected for recording by the prefecture.

The tradition is based in Heguri, Minamiboso City, and is preserved by the Heguri Fireworks Preservation Association.

Heguri Fireworks at a Glance

Heguri fireworks are an intangible folk cultural property of Chiba Prefecture, passed down along with the festival of Heguri Tenjin Shrine.

Alongside a variety of traditional fireworks, including willow and peacock designs, and styles such as danbiraki and fukuro-mono, mikoshi processions, portable festival floats, and Heguri hayashi also shape the local festival.

Although fireworks production has ceased, the wooden launch tube once used remains on the grounds of Heguri Tenjin Shrine.