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One of the most famous festivals in Japan — the Soma Nomaoi festival — is held every July in Minami Soma in Fukushima Prefecture, one of the towns hardest hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Although attendance was affected the year of the disaster, recent numbers suggest that the crowds are returning, increasingly attracting more and more young people to gather and witness a unique spectacle of what life looked like in the age of samurai on an interactive and unrivalled scale.
Dating back over 1,000 years, the festival is believed to have started as a military exercise, with over 400 horses used in the ceremonies today. Some of its participants are reportedly samurai descendants from the Soma clan, and half of those who participate maintain horses especially for this occasion.
The spectacle of this sacred festival includes a parade, a 1km horse race and a flag battle reminiscent of samurai-filled battlefields.
“This region had many problems as part of the fallout from the nuclear accident, but true to our samurai spirit, we didn’t want to give up and rose again, against the radiation, and kept this festival going because it is an old tradition,” said Yuichi Takahashi, one of the lead participants. “Young people are also coming back and participating in this sacred ritual, the Soma Nomaoi, which is held just once a year.”
Takahashi’s involvement in the festival is deeply personal, with a story that’s largely reflective of other participants there.
“My grandmother and my parents died in the tsunami,” he said. “Other close family were also swept away, but thanks to my grandmother and my parents’ actions, my family was saved, and my wife and I were able to rebuild our lives.”
This year’s festival will coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (where the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium will host six softball games from July 22-23 and one baseball game on July 29), and organizers are hoping its many visitors will take the opportunity to come and witness this spectacle of samurai tradition.
“I’d love for visitors from abroad to come and enjoy the Soma Nomaoi festival,” Takahashi said. “It’s an amazing festival and I’d like them to experience it.”
The Soma Nomaoi festival will be held July 25-27, 2020, in Minami Soma, Fukushima, with parade festivities, horse racing and flag battles taking place on Sunday, July 26.
Minami Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, JAPAN – 28 July, 2019
1. Various of horses racing at the Soma Nomaoi Festival
2. Mid shot of clan flags
3. Horses racing at the Soma Nomaoi Festival
4. Various of the parade that preceded the race at the Soma Nomaoi Festival. Appearing in front is Yuichi Takahashi a lead participant
5. Soundbite (Japanese): Yuichi Takahashi, lead participant
“This is a very old festival that dates back well over 1,000 years. It’s a sacred ritual that keeps its appeal no matter how many times it is held.”
6. Horses taking a lap after the end of one of the races held at the Soma Nomaoi Festival
7. Horses climbing up a hill after one of the races at the Soma Nomaoi Festival
8. Soundbite (Japanese): Yuichi Takahashi, lead participant
“This region had many problems as part of the fallout from the nuclear accident. But, true to our Samurai spirit, we didn’t want to give up and rose again, against the radiation and kept this festival going because it is an old tradition. Young people are also coming back and participating in this sacred ritual, the Soma Nomaoi which is held just once a year.”
9. Various of the parade that preceded the race at the Soma Nomaoi Festival
10. Soundbite (Japanese): Yuichi Takahashi, lead participant
“Well my grandmother and my parents died in the tsunami. Other closed ones were also swept away but thanks to my grandmother and my parents’ action my family was saved and my wife and I were able to rebuild our lives”.
11. Various of the parade that preceded the race at the Soma Nomaoi Festival
12. Various of the flag battles that followed the horse race at the festival
13. Soundbite (Japanese): Yuichi Takahashi, lead participant
“I’d love for visitors from abroad to come and enjoy this great Soma Nomaoi festival. It’s an amazing festival and I’d like them to experience it.”
14. Various of the flag battles that followed the horse race at the festival
15. Takahashi on a horse, exits the grounds where the flag battle was held, holding one of the flags he captured in battle.
16. Another participant on a horse after capturing a flag in the flag battle stage of the festival.
STORYLINE:
Samurai spectacle and Japanese tradition signal cultural comeback, renewed confidence for Fukushima
By Adam Clement
One of the most famous festivals in Japan — the Soma Nomaoi festival — is held every July in Minami Soma in Fukushima Prefecture, one of the towns hardest hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Although attendance was affected the year of the disaster, recent numbers suggest that the crowds are returning, increasingly attracting more and more young people to gather and witness a unique spectacle of what life looked like in the age of samurai on an interactive and unrivalled scale.
Dating back over 1,000 years, the festival is believed to have started as a military exercise, with over 400 horses used in the ceremonies today. Some of its participants are reportedly samurai descendants from the Soma clan, and half of those who participate maintain horses especially for this occasion.
The spectacle of this sacred festival includes a parade, a 1km horse race and a flag battle reminiscent of samurai-filled battlefields.
“This region had many problems as part of the fallout from the nuclear accident, but true to our samurai spirit, we didn’t want to give up and rose again, against the radiation, and kept this festival going because it is an old tradition,” said Yuichi Takahashi, one of the lead participants. “Young people are also coming back and participating in this sacred ritual, the Soma Nomaoi, which is held just once a year.”
Takahashi’s involvement in the festival is deeply personal, with a story that’s largely reflective of other participants there.
“My grandmother and my parents died in the tsunami,” he said. “Other close family were also swept away, but thanks to my grandmother and my parents’ actions, my family was saved, and my wife and I were able to rebuild our lives.”
This year’s festival will coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (where the Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium will host six softball games from July 22-23 and one baseball game on July 29), and organizers are hoping its many visitors will take the opportunity to come and witness this spectacle of samurai tradition.
“I’d love for visitors from abroad to come and enjoy the Soma Nomaoi festival,” Takahashi said. “It’s an amazing festival and I’d like them to experience it.”
The Soma Nomaoi festival will be held July 25-27, 2020, in Minami Soma, Fukushima, with parade festivities, horse racing and flag battles taking place on Sunday, July 26.
9 March 2020
