# Katakai Fireworks

> A town of a few thousand people fires one of the largest firework shells made, on two nights in September.

- Prefecture: Niigata
- Type: Fireworks
- Admission: Free to attend
- Typically held: Held on the second Saturday of September and the Friday before it.
- Official site: https://katakaimachi-enkakyokai.info/

## Dates

- 2026-09-11 to 2026-09-12
- Status: confirmed
- Dates verified on 2026-09-03 from https://katakaimachi-enkakyokai.info/

Katakai is a district of Ojiya with a few thousand residents, and every shell fired here was paid for by one of them. The fireworks are an offering to Asahara Shrine, bought by families to mark a birth, a wedding, a sixtieth birthday or a death, and the reason is read out over the loudspeakers before each one goes up. Both nights run from 19:30 to around 22:20, about fifteen thousand shells across the two. The one people travel for is the yon-shaku-dama, a shell roughly 120 centimetres across that opens some 800 metres wide over the hills. The association calls it the world's largest, and Katakai is the only place that sends one up every year. The town also holds the oldest record of a three-shaku-dama, four of them in 1891. The dates sat on 9 and 10 September for generations; since 2024 they follow the second Saturday of the month and the Friday before it.

## Where it happens
- Echigo-Tsumari Art Field

## FAQ

### When is the Katakai festival?

On the second Saturday of September and the Friday before it. In 2026 that is 11 and 12 September, with fireworks from 19:30 on both nights.

### What is the yon-shaku-dama?

A shell about 120 centimetres across that opens roughly 800 metres wide. The association calls it the world's largest, and Katakai sends one up on each of the two nights.

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Source: Katakai Fireworks — Japan Voyage