In Japan, the millennial festival of samurai riders has survived wars, earthquakes and even a nuclear disaster. It now faces a new challenge: climate change. Soma Nomaoi began as a way of training warriors. A thousand years later, the aesthetics is the same: horsemen dressed in samurai armor who compete on horseback. Until 2024, the festival was held in the middle of the summer, but rising temperatures caused participants and spectators to colla…
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In Japan, the millennial festival of samurai riders has survived wars, earthquakes and even a nuclear disaster. It now faces a new challenge: climate change. Soma Nomaoi began as a way of training warriors. A thousand years later, the aesthetics is the same: horsemen dressed in samurai armor who compete on horseback. Until 2024, the festival was held in the middle of the summer, but rising temperatures caused participants and spectators to colla…