SOMA, Fukushima Prefecture--A YouTube video chronicling a young woman's foray into a millennium-old samurai festival here has racked up views from more than 100 countries just one month after it was released online.
SOMA, Fukushima Prefecture--A YouTube video chronicling a young woman's foray into a millennium-old samurai festival here has racked up views from more than 100 countries just one month after it was released online.
Comments posted on the four-and-a-half-minute video, which was uploaded in October, include "This shows the pride and spirit of Japanese people," and "Gorgeous!"
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What makes the video unique is that the protagonist is 20-year-old Emiya Sato, a female office worker from Minami-Soma. The short film documents Sato's first time joining the event as a rider in July.
The first part of the video shows scenes of samurai riding on horseback and "clashing" as pulsating rock music plays in the background.
Some shots are taken from cameras attached to the back of the riders, offering a realistic perspective of horses riding into battle. Viewers are immediately drawn to the powerful image and rapid pacing of such shots.
The latter half of the video is calmer in tone, showing footage of Sato tending to her horse set to a ballad by 28-year-old Fukushima singer Shimva.
English subtitles explaining the background of the festival and how it continued to be held even after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 are displayed during aerial footage of the city's coastal Matsukawaura district, which was devastated in the disaster.
The video was created by Hitomi Kumasaka, a 54-year-old social media producer from Fukushima. The Fukushima prefectural government's tourism section asked Kumasaka to produce the video following her "
Kumasaka began working on the video in July to promote the event abroad.
"Despite the earthquake, the people of Fukushima are preserving a culture with 1,000 years of history," she said. "I wanted to show their strength."
With her understanding that "a simple and eye-catching factor is necessary" for a video to go viral, Kumasaka combined the samurai concept with a female office worker, which proved to be a successful combination.
"Samurai" was included in the title of the video to make it easier to remember and appear in online searches.
The finished product was different from other videos on the Shinto festival, which tend to present it in a more solemn and serene light.
Kumasaka said even though she was happy to hear about the comments from overseas, what satisfied her the most was comments from residents of Soma, such as, "I was able to feel pride in my hometown after watching your video."
Kumasaka added, "I hope the praise outsiders are expressing for the city will help residents also feel pride in their hometowns."
Sato was also pleased with the attention the video is getting, saying: "I want people not just from abroad but also from Soma to watch the video. I want them to know that I want to move forward together with them."