Potassium nitrate, used to make gunpowder, was discovered in China between 225 and 202 B.C. The first gunpowder was produced between 618 and 907, with firearms making their appearance between 976 and 997. Gunpowder was first used in signal fires during the construction of the Great Wall of China between 247 and 210 B.C. During the latter part of the 12th century, a spinning firework similar to one used today made its appearance. Soon after this, potassium nitrate, then known as "Chinese Snow" in Arabic, made its way to Europe.
"Chinese Snow" - The Base Material for Fireworks which Travelled the Silk Road
The "Chinese Snow" travelled the silk road and was used by the Constantinople army in firearms called "Greek Fire." Since Islamic countries did not have firearms at this time, when surrounded by the Saracen army, this weapon enabled the Constantinople army to defeat the Saracen army.
The first fireworks display in Europe was at a festival held in Florence, Italy in the latter half of the 14th century. Fireworks spread all over Europe after this, and were often set off as a status symbol to illustrate the power of the nobility. King Charles the 5th in England was the first to put on fireworks displays for special events on the Thames River. In the 17th century, King James established the world's first fireworks research institute on the South bank of the Thames.
Ieyasu Tokugawa - The First Japanese Person to See Fireworks
The first reliable record of a Japanese person seeing fireworks is of Ieyasu Tokukgawa. John Celes, an Englishman who built a trading house in Nagasaki, met Ieyasu when he visited the Shogunate as an official envoy of King George in 1613. He brought presents of cloth, firearms and a telescope, and showed him fireworks. These consisted of black gunpowder packed into tubes which would shoot out and scatter when ignited. Almost all fireworks used in Japan at this time came from abroad, and large displays were generally set off by foreigners.