Minamitoma, Japan The thousand-year-old Japanese Samurai Horse Festival has survived wars, earthquakes and even a nuclear disaster. Now it faces a new challenge: climate change. Soma Nomaoi began as a form of warrior training. 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 the rising temperatures caused participants…
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Minamitoma, Japan The thousand-year-old Japanese Samurai Horse Festival has survived wars, earthquakes and even a nuclear disaster. Now it faces a new challenge: climate change. Soma Nomaoi began as a form of warrior training. 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 the rising temperatures caused participants…