Preserving Their Identity as Fukushima Samurai

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/lens/preserving-their-identity-as-fukushima-samurai.html

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When the Fukushima samurai gathered in 2011 for their annual three-day festival of Soma-Nomaoi, they were dressed in traditional military robes astride horses clad in armor. As their ancestors had done for centuries, they conducted military exercises amid the pageantry.

But that year was different.

A few months earlier, a deadly earthquake and tsunami had hit eastern Japan, sending 32-foot waves over the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and triggering the world’s largest nuclear meltdown since Chernobyl. Despite death and displacement, and the loss of their horses and their armory, the samurai decided they had to come together.

“I thought, this is not just an event, but the embodiment of their identity and a fight for survival,” said Noriko Takasugi. “This sense of identity represents how and why they live.”

Ms. Takasugi has photographed the Fukushima samurai since the disaster, as they balance the traditions of the past with the uncertainty of the present. They are photographed standing in the ruins of their homes wearing traditional warrior robes, called jinbaori. The disaster killed and displaced thousands of Fukushima prefecture residents. Homes were washed away; schools evacuated and left untouched. Many of the portraits connect the samurai to the lives they were forced to abandon.

“I’ve been investigating the evacuees not as victims, but as part of a thousands-year-old folk culture of the area and representation of Japanese identity, examining how they are surviving and fighting their fate to retain their sense of self,” she said.

Soma Nomaoi, which recreates military scenes from the late 15th century, is the year’s highlight. Family flags hang from their backs as 500 samurai horseman recreate a battle. The festival and its rituals allow the samurai to stay connected to the land, horses and people, Ms. Takasugi said.

“These festival rites, which are rooted in the local land, have fostered people’s sense of pride in their hometowns and created this firm sense of identity,” she said. “Conscious or not, every person of this land has been connected to the Nomaoi throughout its long history.”

Because the samurai lifestyle requires so many participants including armorers, blacksmiths, cloth-dyers and veterinarians, the samurai’s sense of community goes beyond the three-day event. By day they are farmers, restaurant cooks, and contractors, but in their spare time they work together to keep the samurai culture relevant for future generations.

“The armorer told me, ‘I turned into an armorer before I knew it,’” Ms. Takasugi said. “How many other places are there in the world where young people yearning to become craftsmen end up becoming armorers?”

Persuading the samurai to document their recovery process wasn’t easy at first. Ms. Takasugi, who is Japanese, had to gain their trust.

“It was very difficult to convince them to be photographed wearing their jinbaori, standing in their hometown where they have emotional attachment,” she said. “Now, they understand my work and it became easier.”

It also forced her to re-examine her own past.

“I had been fighting for my identity then when I first took photos of Soma Nomaoi,” she said. “The more I listened to their story, spent time with them, and took photos of them, the more I came to feel that I am taking self-portraits.”

In July 2016, the government lifted the evacuation order for the Odaka district, where many of the samurai lived before the disaster. The Japanese government and the electric utility that operated the plant were found negligent in not preventing the meltdowns. But even with these gestures, life in Fukushima is largely a thing of the past. Most residents have not been able to return, Ms. Takasugi said. Anxiety about radiation levels, lack of jobs and inadequate infrastructure all prevent residents from returning.

But others are determined to stay connected to their land and rituals.

“Soma Nomaoi is my whole life,” one 26-year-old samurai told Ms. Takasugi. “Whatever happens, I will live as a samurai in this area.”

“Fukushima Samurai” is available as a limited edition handmade photobook.

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