HIRONO, Fukushima Prefecture--For the first time in eight years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster unfolded here in 2011, the happy sights and sounds of the spring festival dubbed "Tantan Peropero" returned to lift the spirits of residents.
High-spirited men clad in festive "happi" coats shouted “Wasshoi! Wasshoi!” and paraded through the town while shouldering a “mikoshi” portable shrine amid the playing of “taiko” drums on April 8.
The festival, which prays for an abundant harvest and good fortune, had been suspended after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, triggered the triple meltdown at the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The Tantan Peropero was named after the sound of Japanese traditional taiko drums and “fue” flutes, which used to be played in the Shinto ritual called “Hamakudari Shinji” that has been handed down at Kashimajinja shrine here.
Although the flutes are not played anymore during the ritual, the festival united the hopes of residents toward the town's recovery.
“I’m grateful that the solidarity of local people allowed the festival to begin again,” said Masahito Nemoto, 71, a representative of the parishioners.
Along the streets, residents celebrated the return of the festival by clapping and cheering on the energetic 25 men, including mikoshi carriers, taiko players and those guiding the mikoshi carriers, and handed them monetary offerings.
The highlight of the festival is the “shiogori,” which is a purification ritual based in the Shinto tradition held in the sea. Mikoshi carriers went down to the shore where waves were lapping about.
The energetic men chanted “Wasshoi! Wasshoi!” while entering the sea and marching around a small area in the shallows three times.
The area around the shrine was engulfed in the 2011 tsunami and an evacuation order was issued for the entire town after the nuclear accident.
A shortage of sufficient participants was a major concern for restarting the festival.
However, three employees of Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and two third-year students from Futaba Future High School in Hirono assisted in the event.