Real Battle Event: 1st Samurai Festival in Minamisoma! [Held in the Land of Soma-Nomaoi] 01.11.2015

Minamisoma City of Fukushima Prefecture, the land of the "soma-nomaoi" shinto ritual with a history
dating back over 1,000 years, was struck badly by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
It resulted in a rapid migration of people out of the region.
Faced with this critical issue, a local group of volunteer high school students decided to launch
a new event to attract tourists, which is how they came up with the Samurai Festival.

Based on the samurai culture epitomized by "soma-nomaoi," it is a participation-style event where outsiders are welcome.
It was held for the first time on November 1, 2015, at Hibarigaoka Saijochi, the venue where "soma-nomaoi" is also held.

In the main field battle event, around 100 participants were divided into the Soma and Date armies,
and the event bustled with around 700 visitors.
There are plans to hold the event again in 2016, and people watching this video may also be eligible
for taking part in the battle.

Visit the official website (http://www.samuraifes.com/) or the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/samuraifes)
for detailed information and further notices.

[Cooperation by]
Samurai Festival Executive Committee
http://www.samuraifes.com/

* The charms of Fukushima Prefecture's four seasons, a variety of the latest information, and new movies are constantly being posted onto Fukushima Prefecture's official channel.
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