48 hours in pictures, 26 July 2026

Tezutsu-shu, traditional arm-held firework performers, hold a tezutsu hanabi, hand-crafted bamboo tube packed with gunpowder that erupts in a towering column of sparks and flame, during the Tatebayashi Arm-Held Fireworks Festival in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, on July 25, 2026.

Originating in present-day Aichi Prefecture more than 450 years ago, tezutsu hanabi were traditionally offered at Shinto shrines in prayers for good harvests, health and prosperity and remain one of Japan’s most distinctive fireworks traditions.