Gallery: Samurai in Fukushima Guard a 1,000-Year-Old Tradition
01Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity -
*Shin, 34, used to live in Odaka-ku with his family. Their "favorite house" with an ocean view was washed away 20 meters inland by the tsunami. Where he stands was once a stable on the side of the house, now nothing is left but the foundation. "We enjoyed watching the ocean from this point," Shingo says, "All the belongings including armor for Soma Nomaoi and two horses that we had taken care of as family were washed away."*
Noriko Takasugi02Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity
*Yoshi, 48, used to live in a house in nearby Odaka-ku, but now lives in a leased apartment in a neighboring town with his family. He immediately chose to be photographed at Odaka shrine. "Ever since I was born, Odaka shrine was always there for me at important stages of my life," he says. "And of course, Soma Nomaoi starts from Odaka Shrine every year."*
Noriko Takasugi03Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity
*Aki, 38, stands in the garden of his parents' house in Odaka-ku. "My friends and family members are all connected through Soma Nomaoi. Soma Nomaoi often helps to smooth the connection at workplace too," says Sato. "I was able to overcome the disaster because of Soma Nomaoi."*
Noriko Takasugi04Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity
*"I used to stand in front of this kamidana (a household altar) sacred to Odaka Shrine and pray every morning when we were living here before the disaster," says Kuni, 65.*
Noriko Takasugi05Fukushima Samurai
*Hiro, 44, is photographed in front of a horse stable built by he and his family members after the disaster. Before the disaster, he ran a youth horse club. Hironobu used to live in Odaka-ku with his family and his parents, who were involved with the Nomaoi Samurai warriors. His children and parents evacuated to his brother's home in a neighboring city where the impact of radiation was less severe.*
Noriko Takasugi06Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity
*Yuki, 59, is a Kaiyaku, a role in Soma Namaoi that requires him to blow a conch horn. He is pictured at his former house, which was also a small furniture factory in Odaka-ku, the city where he had lived since birth. "We might return to Odaka-ku some day but I don't want my children to live here," he says. "When the disaster occurred, my daughter was in the third trimester of pregnancy. We were trying to determine the best place for her to give birth while moving around for evacuation."*
Noriko Takasugi07Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity
*Kuni, 40, stands in front of his parents' house in Odaka-ku, where he had lived since birth before the disaster happened. Roof tiles fell off and walls cracked due to the earthquake -- the house would be habitable if not for the level of radiation exposure. He Currently lives in leased housing in a town near to Odaka-ku with his family.*
Noriko Takasugi08Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity -
*Kazu, 33, stands in front of his parents' house where he grew up in Odaka-ku. After living at the evacuation center and his wife's cousin's house for several months, he now lives with his wife and his three children in neighboring prefecture and commutes one hour to the nuclear power plant where he worked before the disaster."The tsunami reached just a few hundred meters away from this place, and many people that I knew, including Soma Nomaoi friends, died," he says.*
Noriko Takasugi09Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity -
*"Soma Nomaoi represents life of Japanese Samurai warriors and my way of living. You need that kind of Samurai spirit otherwise you cannot run around wearing that heavy armor in midsummer," says Taka, 68.*
Noriko Takasugi10Fukushima Samurai - The story of identity -
*Masa, 30, is photographed at the spectator stand in Hibarigahara field where Soma Nomaoi events are held every year. The events were not held here in 2011 because of the high level of radiation exposure. Locals worked hard to decontaminate this area so that events could be held there in 2012. Masaki lost his job at a manufacturing company and now drives large trucks for disaster waste processing and decontamination work. "€œWe can easily find these type of jobs here now," he says. "I needed a job to protect my family and raise my children."*
