Three basic structure types
of Japanese round shells

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Japanese round shells can be categorized into the next three structure- types. WARI-MONO, POKA-MONO and KOWARI-MONO, The difference is in the structure and the way the shell bursts. When a wari-mono shell bursts, the casing bursts into pieces and the stars are scattered to make a sphere. When a poka-mono shell bursts, the casing breaks into two in the middle at the joint and scatters the contents. Kowari-mono takes the characteristics from both wari-mono and poka-mono structures.

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Wari-mono
The stars are closely packed inside the casing. The breaking powder is put in the center. Pieces of paper are pasted in layers on the casing. This is wari-mono. "Chrysanthemum" and "Peony" are typical Wari-mono shells. Good balance between the strength of the package and the power of the breaking powder make a good size and shape of the fireworks.

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Kowari-mono
Many small round shells are put inside the casing. The stars are scattered to make many starbursts. It uses less breaking powder than wari-mono, and more than poka-mono. The varieties of Kowari-mono take their names from the beautiful starburst shapes: "A Thousand Chrysanthemums", "Flower Garden"or "A Hundred Flowers' Garden"

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Poka-mono
Casings break into two at the joint and scatter the contents. Poka-mono does not need much breaking powder. It bursts in a smaller scale than wari-mono. Various kinds of poka-mono shells can be made by changing the types of smaller shells set inside. "Flash" and "Bee and bee" are typical poka-mono shells.

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