80115-0046 - New Year - Firefighters

Firefighters in happi coats perform acrobatic stunts on top of bamboo ladders in front of Hyogo Prefectural Office in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture.

The ladder stunts were the main event of Japanese New Year celebrations. The demonstrations, called dezome-shiki, were intended to warn people of the dangers of fire, and to demonstrate the agility and courage of the firefighters.

This image is part of The New Year in Japan, a book published by Kobe-based photographer Kozaburo Tamamura in 1906 (Meiji 39).

See blog entry.