MINAMI-SOMA, Fukushima Prefecture--About 300 horseback riders dressed in samurai armor engaged in races and mock cavalry battles during the Soma Nomaoi festival here on July 28.
MINAMI-SOMA, Fukushima Prefecture--About 300 horseback riders dressed in samurai armor engaged in races and mock cavalry battles during the Soma Nomaoi festival here on July 28.
The traditional local event can be traced back more than 1,000 years. More recently, it has become a symbol of recovery efforts for the city of Minami-Soma, which was hit heavily by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011.
The Hibarigahara riding ground in the Haramachi district, where the festival was held, is located just 23 kilometers north of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The three-day festival lasted through July 29, with some 45,000 spectators attending on July 28 for the equestrian competition.
During the event’s climax, the army of cavaliers competed in the "Shinki Sodatsusen" (holy flag contest) to grab flags of three local shrines, which were shot high in the air by fireworks, in a restaging of an ancient cavalry battle.