“Galloping Horses like Dragons: The Soma-Nomaoi Festival and Soma-yaki” Exhibition in Paris

The Soma-Nomaoi Festival

(Soma-Nomaoi Executive Committee Homepage )

The Soma-Nomaoi Festival is said to have its origins in the military training exercises undertaken by samurai warriors, in which wild horses were used to simulate enemy forces. The ritual event that the exercises have developed into has now been designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and is held in late July each year. In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 there were concerns that the event might not be hosted; however, when the festival was successfully held once again on a reduced scale a mere five months after the earthquake in spite of the damage, it provided a tremendous boost to the morale of local people in the area as a symbol of the regeneration of Fukushima, attracting an even more enthusiastic following than before. Around 450 horses were entered this year, bringing the event back to approximately the scale it had enjoyed prior to the earthquake.

Soma-yaki

Soma-yaki first began to be made as a local form of ceramics in the Nakamura Domain during the Edo period; types include Soma-koma-yaki which was traditionally bestowed on the lords of the Soma Clan who governed the local area for many generations, and Obori-soma-yaki, a ceramic for more general use which was traded in large quantities over a wider area. Both types are decorated with the image of a galloping horse resembling a dragon, which traces its origins to the family crest of the Soma Clan and which hints at the powerful connection that has existed between people and horses in this region since time out of mind. Sadly, all Obori-soma-yaki kilns have ceased operations in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake; however, a movement is now afoot to restart production at new sites.