Pop Japan

Have you ever wondered how the code of samurai is really like? One can "experience" one in modern day Japan, by simply visiting the Soma Nomaoi Festival of the Fukushima Prefecture.

Held in the Soma District, a region famous for breeding war-ready horses, the festival is said to have been being practiced in the prefecture for around a thousand years now. The festival is organized by three shrines: Ota Shrine, Odaka Shrine, and the Nakamura Shrine.

The main attraction of the festival is the Koshiki Kacchu Keiba, which is the horse race of 12 samurais, complete with armor, helmets and of course, the katana swords. There is alsot he Shinki Sodatsusen, wherein the samurai horsemen race to get the 40 shrine flags tossed into the sky.

Photo by Hajime NAKANO. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Tags: soma nomaoi festival, fukushima prefecture, soma district, ota shrine, odaka shrine, nakamura shrine, koshiki kacchu keiba, samurai, shinki sodatsusen